Li Ka-shing shook his head helplessly, "What's the point of discussing? It's just a notification."
"I can't think of a reason why you wouldn't agree. Isn't this a good deal?"
Facing his son's question, Li Ka-shing opened his mouth, but had nothing to say.
Is it a good deal to sell satellite TV for 2 billion?
Of course it's a good deal!
A net profit of HK$1 billion in half a year is considered a first-class investment benefit even within a top consortium in Hong Kong like Hutchison Whampoa.
This Mrs. Lin is really good at it!
A complex emotion arose in Li Ka-shing's heart. The Li family and the Lin family lived together in a villa complex in Deep Water Bay, and they were both wealthy families. According to Chinese people's habits, the two families should have frequent interactions.
However, the Lin family has lived in Deep Water Bay for two years, but they have kept a low profile and rarely interacted with their neighbors.
The Lin family's style is not only reflected in their interactions with neighbors, but also in shopping malls. The big families in Xiangjiang often have marriages, cooperation, and joint operations. Over the years, they have become intertwined with each other.
But Lin is a special case. Most of the time he lives in seclusion, like a lone wolf in the shopping mall, but he always achieves unexpected results.
In just five or six years, he had accumulated tens of billions of assets. Every step was calculated so clearly that even he could not help but marvel.
His youngest son has acted boldly since he was a child, advocating speculation in his heart. This time Tao Yushu approached his youngest son and made a move of 2 billion, which was extremely precise and decisive.
Not only did he grasp the character shortcomings of Ikuko, but he also grasped his mentality of proving himself and the internal divisions of the Li family.
Li Ka-shing even guessed that Tao Yushu did not look for his younger son in private, but showed up at the Hutchison Whampoa Center. He was also calculating his son's vanity, knowing that he was eager to show his presence within Hutchison Whampoa.
Thinking of this, he looked at his proud and proud son in front of him, and an ancient poem popped up in his mind.
Giving birth to a son should be like Sun Zhongmou!
"Dad!" Seeing that his father had not spoken for a long time, Li Zekai couldn't help but urge him.
Li Ka-shing came back to his senses, looked at his younger son with complicated eyes, and said seriously: "You haven't listened to me since you were 7 years old, let alone you are about to be 27 now."
Hearing this, Li Zekai was overjoyed, "So you agree?"
Li Ka-shing put away the disappointment in his heart and said: "It's okay to sell the TV station. The money you borrowed from me must be returned immediately. You have also made your first pot of gold. In the future, you can start your own business. I will not help you with the money."
Li Zekai said loudly: "No problem, it's settled!"
Friday, August 16, 1991.
Hong Kong is already a busy scene in the early morning. The streets are busy with traffic, pedestrians are rushing on the road, and the office buildings are full of people. The Ming Pao Building in North Point is as busy as usual.
Suddenly, a burst of surprise erupted in the cubicle.
"Have you watched the news? Have you watched the news?"
The young editor looked shocked and yelled at his colleagues who had just arrived at the company.
Xu Aiyi, who was passing by, frowned when she saw this, "Aguang, what are you making all the fuss about? We are in the news business, and the more serious news there is, the more calm we have to be!"
She is the printing supervisor of "Ming Pao". Her duty is to supervise the publication of the newspaper. In terms of responsibilities, she is no different from a legal person. She bears all legal responsibilities and holds a high position in the company.
Hearing her scolding, the young man called A Guang shrank his neck and closed his mouth.
Xu Aiyi asked: "What big news happened?"
Ah Guang handed over the newspaper in his hand, "Look, the Hong Kong Economic Journal said that we want to acquire Hutchison Whampoa's satellite TV!"
Um?
What is this mess?
Xu Aiyi felt confused when she heard this. Ming Pao or Ming Pao Enterprises couldn't compete with Hutchison Whampoa, and they didn't have a TV business, so why buy a TV station?
But when she saw the content in the newspaper, her face suddenly became serious.
Ming Pao Enterprises offers 2 billion to acquire satellite TV?
The news in the Hong Kong Economic Journal was so good that even Xu Moiyi couldn't help but become suspicious, but she was also a senior manager of the Ming Pao Group, so there was no reason for her not to know such big news.
Besides, Ming Pao Enterprise itself is engaged in news. If it really wants to acquire satellite TV, will such a big news get the attention of the Hong Kong Economic Journal?
It is estimated that 80% of it is a piece of gossip that the Hong Kong Economic Journal got from somewhere and dared to publish it in the newspaper without any verification.
Competition in the newspaper industry has become increasingly fierce in the past two years. It is not easy for everyone to fight for headlines and sales!
Just as Xu Aiyi was sighing, she saw Jin Yong coming down from the elevator.
"Mr. Cha!"
There were calls of hello in the office, and Jin Yong nodded in response.
Although the control of Mingpao Enterprise is now in the hands of Tao Yushu, at the time of the acquisition, Jin Yong and Tao Yushu reached a gentleman's agreement.
He will continue to serve as the nominal chairman of Ming Pao Enterprises for three years to help stabilize military morale within the company.
Therefore, he still comes to the company every day, but he no longer does a lot of work personally.
Passing by Xu Aiyi, Jin Yong greeted her and was about to enter the office when Xu Aiyi stopped him.
"What's wrong?"
Walking into the office, Jin Yong asked Xu Aiyi who followed him.
"The Hong Kong Economic Journal reported that we intend to acquire Hutchison Whampoa Satellite TV."
Jin Yong took off his coat and hung it on the hanger, "What about this..."
"We haven't negotiated yet—"
Before Jin Yong could continue, Xu Aiyi asked eagerly: "Really want to acquire it? Why is there no news at all? Or did the Hong Kong Economic Journal get the news first? We are also in the news business ourselves!"
Her blame was palpable, but Jin Yong didn't care. The two had been colleagues for more than 30 years.
"You misunderstood. It was not an acquisition by us, but a joint acquisition by us and Lin's Pictures, with Lin taking the lead."
"ah!"
The short cry was full of surprise, fully explaining Xu Aiyi's surprise at this moment.
"Lin's company is the main one? TV is a news media. If it wants to acquire it, we should be the main one."
Jin Yong smiled. In fact, he had the same reaction when he heard Tao Yushu talk about this decision. But after Tao Yushu explained it, he understood.
"Television is a media, but it not only has news attributes, but is also a cultural industry.
Our Ming Pao company focuses on news, how many TV talents can you find?"
Hearing this, Xu Aiyi was speechless.
As the saying goes, there are specialties in the art industry. Ming Pao Company produces newspapers and periodicals, and it is also true that TV stations have news programs or news stations. However, a TV station cannot only have news content.
For most TV stations, the proportion of news content is not high.
On the contrary, Lin's Pictures, because it started out as a film company, has a certain compatibility with the TV content industry. It is easier to acquire and operate.
Even if we want to do news in the future, the worst case scenario is that some talents can be transferred internally from Mingpao Enterprise.
With Jin Yong's advice, Xu Aiyi suddenly figured out the key to the problem.
"So that's it."
Jin Yong said: "Originally, this matter was still under discussion. I guess the Hong Kong Economic Journal got some information from Hutchison Whampoa and reported it impatiently."
Xu Aiyi nodded, "Then we should wait for the news from Mrs. Lin, so as to——"
Before she finished speaking, the phone rang and Jin Yong picked up the phone.
Two minutes later, Jin Yong put down the phone.
"It's decided that the board of directors and shareholders' meetings will be held in the afternoon.
At the end of the meeting, a joint announcement was issued, and Lin’s side prepared documents. Both companies will be suspended from trading in the next few days.”
Xu Aiyi was surprised at the efficiency of Lam Films. The Hong Kong Economic Journal had just released the news, and the negotiations over there were over?
She asked curiously: "How much did it cost? Is it a full acquisition?"
"It cost 2.1 billion, cash, and we paid 500 million."
"Hiss~"
Xu Aiyi couldn't help but exclaimed, this is 2.1 billion Hong Kong dollars!
As expected, it’s Mrs. Lin who always makes big moves!
The key is cash acquisition. Not even blue-chip companies can afford such a large sum of money.
It's a pity that the entire acquisition has little to do with Mingpao Enterprise. The middle and senior management of Mingpao Enterprise didn't even know the news. They only got the information from competitors.
After all, he is not his confidant, Xu Aiyi thought with some resentment in her heart.
Perhaps seeing what she was thinking, Jin Yong comforted him: "Acquisition negotiations are originally a matter of confidentiality. Mrs. Lin has informed me of this matter in advance. The group has transferred three people, and I asked them to keep it secret!"
"
"The success of this acquisition has both advantages and disadvantages for Ming Pao. It not only expands the business scope, but also has great benefits in the selection, training and flow of talents."
Jin Yong spoke very highly of this acquisition. When he asked Ming Pao Group how many times it had selected a successor, wasn't it just to find someone who could make Ming Pao Group develop in a big way?
Looking at it now, being acquired by Lin's company is unlikely to be very successful.
Not only did Ming Pao Group become Ming Pao Enterprises, it was successfully listed and became the largest media group in Hong Kong. Now it even has a TV station.
Jin Yong only felt so relieved.
Xu Aiyi also understood in her heart that the current development of Ming Pao Enterprise in Xiangjiang has reached a bottleneck. The acquisition of satellite TV is indeed a stroke of genius, opening up the upper limit for the development of Ming Pao Enterprise.
But she also guessed that the reason why Mrs. Lin wanted to make the acquisition mainly with Lam Pictures was to check and balance Ming Pao Enterprises.
On the one hand, this can prevent one Mingpao company from becoming dominant, and on the other hand, it can also carry out a large-scale movement of personnel within the Mingpao company, which is called transfers but is actually a purge.
After all, most of the current managers of Mingpao Enterprises were brought up by Mr. Cha.
Killing several birds with one stone!
Mrs. Lin’s scheming and skills are really unpredictable!
Xu Aiyi couldn't help but feel a bit of awe.
Regarding the decision by Lam Films and Ming Pao Enterprises to jointly acquire Satellite TV Co., Ltd., it was just a formality at the boards of directors and shareholders' meetings of the two listed companies.
Just like when Tao Yushu decided to donate 100 million Hong Kong dollars to the mainland, all he had to do was make a phone call.
But after all, this is a transaction involving more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars, and the formality still requires respect for the majority of investors.
In the morning, the Hong Kong Economic Journal reported that the two companies were meeting in the afternoon, and the news had already spread throughout the city.
During this period, the stocks of Ming Pao Enterprises and Lam Pictures had been fluctuating in the morning. Until the news was confirmed in the afternoon, the market immediately reacted and the stocks directly rose.
Until the two companies made announcements and submitted acquisition-related documents and information to the Stock Exchange, the company was suspended. The combined market value of Ming Pao Enterprises and Lam Pictures directly increased by 2 billion.
The market reaction was so intense that the two companies did not even need to issue a press release to draw a picture. The majority of investors had already imagined a wonderful picture on their own.
Movies, TV, news---isn't this a rising media empire?
Buy! Must buy!
A giant cultural media group that spans film, television, and news, the Shaw Brothers back then were not enough!
In addition to the two acquirers, Lam Pictures and Ming Pao Enterprises, even the shares of Hutchison Whampoa, the parent company of Satellite TV, the acquiree, rose a lot after the announcement of the acquisition.
The logic behind the rise of Lam Pictures and Ming Pao Enterprises is that they have new expansion in their business direction, while the rise in Hutchison Whampoa's share price is purely due to making money.
Hutchison Whampoa, a subsidiary of Satellite Company Limited, only invested a total of HK$1 billion and made a net profit of HK$1.1 billion in just half a year. Where can I find such a good deal?
As for selling the TV business, which had great potential, and thus losing the company's future potential, it may be a problem for other companies, but it has never been a problem for Hutchison Whampoa.
Hutchison Whampoa, under the leadership of Li Ka-shing, has always done whatever it takes to make money. Making money is the core business of this company.
The biggest impact of the joint acquisition of satellite TV by Lam Pictures and Ming Pao Enterprises is not the stock price, but the overall pattern of Xiangjiang's media industry.
Just as investors in the market have expected, a media empire spanning film, television, and news has taken shape. This is both an improvement and a huge challenge for Hong Kong's media industry as a whole.
Whether it is several listed newspaper companies or TV stations, everyone feels great pressure when they see this news.
The reason is also very simple. Sales of newspapers and periodicals and account opening fees are mostly maintenance expenses. To make big money, you have to rely on advertising.
Nowadays, Lin's Pictures, Ming Pao Enterprises, and Satellite TV have formed a group operation model, which will squeeze other competitors to a certain extent in terms of cost control, business transfer, target audience, business volume, etc.
This kind of squeeze may not be noticeable in a short period of time. After all, satellite TV has only been on the air for half a year.
But what happens over time? Has it gradually developed?
They are all old foxes who have been immersed in the media industry for decades, and they have a clear mind. However, facing Tao Yushu's aggressiveness, they can't seem to come up with a better way. They can only hope that they can withstand the offensive when they see the real chapter.
The news of Satellite TV's acquisition came out on Friday, and there was a lot of excitement throughout the weekend. The market only calmed down on Monday.
Lam Pictures and Ming Pao Enterprises are still suspended from trading until the second Friday.
"Ming Pao" suddenly published a press release detailing the details of the acquisition.
The details of the various interest negotiations were much clearer than the Hong Kong Economic Journal report, which immediately attracted the attention of many readers and brought the already silent acquisition case to the attention of the market again.
Interestingly, the Ming Pao report did not focus entirely on the two acquirers. In this report, Li Zekai, the second son of the Li family who is responsible for the actual operation of Satellite TV Co., Ltd., seems to have become the protagonist.
Born into a wealthy family, a newborn calf is not afraid of tigers. He used 500 million capital (only counting satellite TV license fees) to win 2.1 billion in half a year. This must be regarded as the shortest, fastest and most cost-effective investment in the history of Hong Kong business.
Such a huge success also made Li Zekai, the second son of Superman, famous in one fell swoop, becoming the most dazzling star in Hong Kong's business world this August.
Driven by "Ming Pao", many news media reported on the satellite TV acquisition case one after another, and Li Zekai's reputation as "Little Superman" spread like wildfire.
Recently, when Li Ka-shing communicates with many business partners, he often hears comments such as "there is a successor" and "a tiger father has no dog son".
He felt aggrieved and relieved at the same time. What aggrieved him was that he knew very well that the sudden swarm of media praising his son must be the work of Mrs. Lin.
Even if the trees are beautiful in the forest, the wind will destroy them.
She probably also understood that she had been in too much limelight recently, so in order to reduce her own attention, she pushed her son to the forefront.
With the media power she has at her disposal, it is easy to manipulate public opinion at this level.
But even if he knew Bai Tao Yushu's intentions, Li Ka-shing could not completely blame him.
Because even though his son acted as a shield, he still made a solid name in the Hong Kong business community and even in the Asian business community.
When young people enter the business world for the first time, not everyone has the opportunity to become famous instantly.
In the business world, "fame" does not necessarily equal "money", but it must equal "power"
Why did Liu Luanxiong become the "stock market sniper" talked about by everyone in the Hong Kong stock market?
The first battle was with Zhuangshi Group, the second battle was with Chinese real estate, and the third battle was with China Gas - the younger generation challenged the famous families and manipulated the big guys. This is the benefit of gathering power through fame.
The son's fame is completely different from Liu Luanxiong's "notoriety", but the results are consistent.
He became famous in the business world at a young age. As long as he works steadily in the future, his development will be smooth. This is why Li Ka-shing is pleased.
Every time he thought about the mystery, Li Ka-shing had to secretly admire Mrs. Lin's skill.
Even if people are being used, they will be happy with it.
In the last week of August, Lam Pictures and Ming Pao Enterprises, which had been suspended for ten days, officially resumed trading.
After encountering a wave of selling at the opening, the stock price quickly rose to a high level, showing the market's strong confidence in the acquisition.
Many people who follow the stock market couldn't help but admire the performance of the two companies when they saw it, and felt a sense of admiration for Tao Yushu, who was handling the acquisition.
You say she spent money on the acquisition, but her company’s stock price rose higher than the acquisition price; you say she didn’t spend any money?
She spent more than 2 billion Hong Kong dollars without blinking an eye.
Even those shopping mall giants who are accustomed to seeing big scenes will praise this brilliant business operation with such an antelope hanging its horns!
Although the public and the business community are amazed by Tao Yushu's skills and have been discussing endlessly, she has rarely been mentioned in newspapers since the two companies suspended trading.
This is the advantage of having the power of the media in your hands. If you want to be high-profile, you can be high-profile, and if you want to be low-key, you can be low-key. All the initiative is in your hands, and it is true to others.
Tao Yushu doesn't care about the public opinion of the outside world. She is now thinking hard about the follow-up development of satellite TV.
As the saying goes, those who are distinguished in front of others will suffer behind others.
People outside only saw her spending money, but they didn't see her putting all her energy into running a business.
"Alas! Tell me, am I causing problems for myself?"
After thinking for a long time, Tao Yushu asked Lin Chaoyang with a sad face.
She studied Chinese and originally worked as an editor. After coming to Hong Kong, she first worked in movies, then in news, and now she works in television.
Every time her career tentacles expands outward, it is a new learning and experience for her.
If it was just about studying, the key point was that every time she invested real money, if she was not careful, she would lose tens of millions, and she did not dare to slack off at all.
"Yu Mo has a saying that is right. You, don't pursue perfection so much. You have to understand everything so thoroughly and meticulously, and you have to learn to grasp the big and let go of the small." Lin Chaoyang said.
"You make it easy. Only by knowing yourself and your enemy can you win every battle. I am not in business for trial and error. Seeing her boredom and sadness, Lin Chaoyang felt guilty and gently held her in his arms.
"How about I give you some advice?"
Tao Yushu snorted, "You didn't tell me earlier if you had an idea."
In fact, from the moment Lin Chaoyang photographed her purchasing satellite TV, she knew that her husband must have a comprehensive strategy.
The couple have been together for so many years, and she knows this person very well. In her previous life, she was a squirrel and she liked to hoard goods.
However, she endured it and never asked. Instead, she showed weakness and tempted Lin Chaoyang to take the initiative to ask.
She has the image of a strong woman in the outside world, but she can't always be like this at home. She has to be a "little woman" properly.
Look, now, with a few sighs, wouldn't he just obediently hand over all the inventory in his stomach?
"I've just straightened out my thoughts," Lin Chaoyang said nonsense.
Tao Yushu ignored his sophistry and said, "Speak quickly."
"Let's change the name of satellite TV first?"
"Change your name? What name?"
"How about calling Star Media?"
Tao Yushu thought for a while and said, "The name is quite good. Why do you suddenly want to change the name of the company?"
"It's nothing, I just think the word 'satellite' doesn't fit the character of the TV station.'
Lin Chaoyang couldn't say that he thought the name of this TV station would be better in future generations, so he just found a random reason.
Tao Yushu didn't worry about the name, "Okay, let's change the name, what else?"
"Satellite TV currently has two problems that need to be solved urgently, one is content, and the other is audience.
As a satellite TV company, most of its program content is now purchased from external sources, such as the United States, Britain, Japan, and Bay Island——
This approach is fine in the short term, but in the long run, it will be very detrimental to the operation of the TV station."
When Lin Chaoyang talked about the idea, Hutchison Whampoa had no experience in making televisions at all. After Li Zekai mastered satellite television, he could only use his financial capabilities in a hurry.
The only 1,200 hours of TV programs available on satellite TV in the past were all outsourced, which cost a lot of money. He did recruit a lot of TV talents, but they had not yet formed a combat effectiveness in a short period of time, and naturally there were no results.
"It is imperative to create self-produced programs. It is better to do it sooner rather than later."
Tao Yushu said: "I understand too. But the problem now is that it has already cost a huge sum of money to acquire satellite TV. If we invest a lot of money, we will not be able to do it. This is where I am embarrassed."
Lin Chaoyang said: "Satellite TV now has four channels: Chinese Channel, Sports Channel, Family Fun Channel, and Movie Channel. If you rush to update large-scale programs in a short period of time, it is impossible without investing 1.8 billion.
So my idea is to concentrate on doing big things."
"Concentrate your efforts on big things?"
Tao Yushu's eyes lit up, "You mean, focus on setting up a channel first?"
"Yes. It is not only necessary to focus on one channel, but also to focus on high-quality programs.
It is impossible for any TV station to attract viewers with its programs 24 hours a day. We can definitely capture the audience's two hours first."
Tao Yushu nodded, "It makes sense. Which channel can we focus on to create those high-quality programs?"
Do you have an idea?"
Lin Chaoyang said proudly: "I am not a talented young man, but I happen to have some ideas."
"Stop being so shy and hurry up and say it." Tao Yushu urged him with charming eyes.
"With four channels, the movie channel now has the support of Lam Pictures, so no big investment is needed in a short period of time.
Can be placed at the back.
Li Zekai had already invested a large sum of money to purchase the broadcasting rights for Sports Channel. If he wanted to improve, he would have to buy the broadcasting rights for higher-level and more famous events. The price-performance ratio was too low.
The Chinese channel has news programs and it is easy to encounter sensitive events.
Family Fun Station mainly focuses on variety shows and TV series, which is more suitable for entertainment reform.'
Lin Chaoyang's logic was clear and well-organized, and Tao Yushu agreed: "That's right. It's just that the family entertainment platform is only available in Xiangjiang now——
Of the four channels of satellite TV, currently only the Chinese channel of Satellite TV is available in Xiangjiang and Wandao, and can also be seen in parts of Guangdong in the mainland. The remaining three channels are only broadcast in Xiangjiang.
"You have to eat one bite at a time. It's not that easy to implement satellite TV. Let's cultivate our internal strength first."
Tao Yushu's face relaxed, "That's right, rushing can't solve the problem. Tell me quickly, how should we do the show?"
"Don't worry, let's eliminate it bit by bit." Lin Chaoyang took his time and enjoyed being in front of the dog-headed military advisor.
"Since we are competing with local TV stations, we have to look at our own strengths and weaknesses. Let's ignore the two pay TV stations for now. Our biggest rivals are TVB and ATV.
Both of these TV stations have been established for 20 or 30 years and have a rich talent base.
If we focus on TV dramas, satellite TV is not bad with the support of Lam Pictures, but it is difficult to say what advantages it has. The priority of TV dramas can be put back and a batch of projects can be planned first.
Variety shows are a good breakthrough point. They require the most innovation in program formats, are not affected by talent reserves, are quick to produce results, and can be adjusted while broadcasting.
Chapter completed!