Less than a week before Christmas, the festive atmosphere on the streets of Xiangjiang City has become stronger.
After leaving the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Lin Chaoyang and his wife did not go home, but strolled on the coast of the port.
The sea breeze at Victoria Harbour is cool and has a faint salty and humid atmosphere.
Among the pedestrians around me were many blonde and blue-eyed foreigners who stopped to take photos from time to time. They were all foreign tourists. Several bodyguards were scattered around the couple, not showing any signs of mountains or showing off.
"Do you think Murdoch's ultimate goal is Star TV? These methods are just his tricks at the moment?"
"There is a high probability. People like him are too greedy. 'Win win' is not his style. 'To achieve his goal, he will do whatever he wants" is his style."
Upon hearing this, Tao Yushu pondered and said, "I have considered this issue just now. He proposed to change stocks, even if it was for Starry Sky TV, it does not mean that the company only has 40% of Starry Sky TV's equity.
It is probably more difficult for him to gain control of Ming Pao Enterprise than to climb the sky.
After the stock exchange, Murdoch held only 18% of the shares, while I still had 36% of the shares. There is only one possibility that he would want to gain control of Ming Pao Enterprise.”
Tao Yushu said and took a breath, "Unless you can get the equity in Mr. Cha and Mr. Shen at any cost, and then launch a blitzkrieg and raise a bid to acquire it."
"This requires not only excellent confidentiality, but the key is that the price News Corp will pay may be twice, three times, or even four or five times that of ours."
"You forgot what did News Corp start with? Without its strong merger and acquisition capabilities, how could Murdoch build a news empire across Australia, America?"
Lin Chaoyang's reminder made Tao Yushu fall into deep thought. Although he felt that his idea was too successful in implementing it, who made this opponent Murdoch?
Even if it is only one percent failure rate, Tao Yushu dares not gamble.
In the industry of couples, Mingpao enterprises have little presence, but their role cannot be ignored.
The price of losing Mingpao company is something she cannot bear.
Thinking in his heart, Tao Yushu asked: "Suppose Murdoch really gained control of Ming Pao Enterprise, what do you think he will do next?"
"Negotiation." Lin Chaoyang's tone was firm.
"Mingpao Enterprise has 40% of the equity of Star TV. Although it is a small shareholder, we can control it to a certain extent, but at that time Murdoch had already vetoed the major decisions of Star TV, which was equivalent to a messing stick.
At that time, he might raise the acquisition price and force you to push Star TV to split and list. The methods must be full of ways, and the ultimate goal is to gain control of Star TV."
Tao Yushu said: "What you said is like we are lambs that can be slaughtered."
Lin Chaoyang shook his head, "This is just a matter of not considering victory, but we are still in an absolute advantage in the face of Murdoch, but we cannot take it lightly."
Looking at the sea, the sea water reflected by the lights on both sides of the Victoria Harbor is sparkling and colorful, and it seems that several possibilities of the future are reflected in Tao Yushu's eyes.
"If Murdoch really had this idea, then he should have started to make arrangements before he met me."
Tao Yushu's tone was ethereal. Facing Murdoch's tricks, the easiest way was to remain calm and now take the initiative in their side.
But Lin Chaoyang knew Tao Yushu's character well, and she still didn't give up on the South China Morning Post Group.
He had to admit that Murdoch was indeed a businessman with great wisdom and accurately grasped Tao Yushu's psychology.
"Need to verify?"
Tao Yushu turned to look at him and nodded seriously, as if a little girl was asking for a toy from her elder brother. Lin Chaoyang pampered her shoulder.
"Go home first."
"good."
The couple returned to Shenshui Bay. It was already 10 o'clock in the evening. Tao Yushu picked up the phone and prepared to dial.
Lin Chaoyang suddenly held her hand, "If Murdoch had already made arrangements in advance, your phone call might be a warning to the enemy."
Upon hearing this, Tao Yushu hesitated for a moment, and finally decided to call.
In May last year, Jin Yong officially left Ming Pao Enterprise, which he founded and worked hard for more than 30 years, and was invited to work as a visiting scholar at the Institute of Modern China, Anthony College, Oxford University in the UK.
When he was young, he dreamed of studying in Oxford or Cambridge. He often thought he would be regretful for life, but he did not expect that he would get his wish after retirement. Naturally, he was overjoyed and felt very glorious.
However, at Jin Yong's age, it is impossible to achieve anything in academic research. This trip can only be considered a pity.
After working as a visiting scholar at Oxford University for one year, he felt that he was still unsatisfied and accepted the invitation to visit and exchange from the University of British Columbia in Canada. He is now in Vancouver.
"Mr. Cha is in good health recently?"
"I'll worry, no illness or disaster, and good health."
The phone was answered, and Jin Yong was very happy when he heard Tao Yushu's voice and his tone was pleasant.
More than a year after leaving Ming Pao, Tao Yushu would occasionally contact him and tell him about the recent situation of the company, which made Jin Yong feel the warmth of the tea before he left.
Especially since Mingpao Enterprise's stock price has hit new highs in the past two years, the remaining stocks in his hand are even more valuable than when he sold Mingpao Group that year, which made Jin Yong call himself the right successor.
After a while of greeting, Tao Yushu asked Jin Yong: "Mr. Cha, have anyone related to News Corporation contacted you recently?"
Jin Yong didn't understand the meaning, "What does it mean?"
Since he had called, Tao Yushu did not deliberately conceal it and said, "Today I met Murdoch of News Corporation."
After listening to Tao Yushu talking about Murdoch's ambitions for Star TV and Mingpao companies, Jin Yong sighed: "The price of tens of billions is really extraordinary!"
Then he praised, "But the more amazing thing is Yushu. I bought Star TV for 2.1 billion, but now it has attracted a media giant of 10 billion Hong Kong dollars to buy it. It really turns decay into magic!"
"Mr. Cha, you have won the award."
After praising him, Jin Yong said: "The people from News Corporation have not contacted me at the moment."
"That's it." Tao Yushusi.
Jin Yong asked on the other end of the phone: "Are you worried that after the stock exchange, News Corporation will shoot a cold arrow and stage a counter-acquisition?"
"That's right."
Jin Yong thought about it and said, "It is indeed possible, but this is not small. Once the stock exchange is successful and if you want to counter-acquisition, you may have to pay out the funds that will not be less than one billion US dollars, right?
If that's the case, why doesn't he directly increase the acquisition price of Star TV for you?"
"Maybe it was a two-handed preparation, or it might be a series of plans. Today is just the first time we meet, and the reality is still unclear."
"That's the same."
The receiver fell silent. Tao Yushu had an idea in his mind, but hesitated and still didn't say it out.
In fact, instead of worrying about coming and going now, it is better to use force to break the stocks in Jin Yong directly.
In this way, even if the equity is diluted after the stock exchange, it can still take the absolute initiative in the possible future fund grabbing war.
But this brings two more problems.
First, if she takes the initiative to make this request, she will inevitably have a significant premium. It is not wise to do so when the situation is still unclear.
Second, Jin Yong's number of stocks in his hands is too large, so this transaction must be disclosed to the public, because she is afraid of alarming the enemy.
How could Murdoch take the bait if he is bound to lose?
As his mind changed, Tao Yushu spoke politely, and was about to hang up the phone.
Jin Yong on the other end of the phone suddenly remembered something, "By the way!"
"Mr. Cha has something else?"
"Do you still remember someone named Yu Pinhai?" Jin Yong asked.
The memories in my mind kept flashing, and finally frozen on a paper material, "The middleman in Tokuma Bookstore back then."
"good."
At that time, Jin Yong intended to sell Mingpao Group. Yu Pinhai contacted Jin Yong as an intermediary of Dejian Bookstore. Because Yu Pinhai was an editor, Jin Yong once had a good impression of him.
But later Tao Yushu appeared, and Yu Pinhai and Dejian Bookstores had no chance.
"What's the action of Yu Pinhai?"
"I contacted Baoxin more than half a month ago and heard that he has become a basketball friend with Yu Pinhai recently."
Jin Yong's words immediately aroused Tao Yushu's alertness. Before she could speak, Jin Yong said again: "I don't know how Yu Pinhai got together with Baoxin, and I don't know if it will be helpful to you."
"I understand, thank you Mr. Cha for your help." Tao Yushu said sincerely.
After politely speaking, the phone hung up, Tao Yushu sat on the sofa and frowned.
: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :
But unfortunately, the Hang Seng Index has been improving steadily since 1989, and this year it has been hotter.
Mingpao's corporate performance is booming again, and its profitability continues to rise steadily, and it is supported by the strong development of Star TV.
The market attention remains high, and the trading activity is naturally high. It is still a bit more difficult to judge whether Murdoch entered the market through clues in the secondary market.
The people from the Securities Department were busy for two days and submitted a report with an ambiguous conclusion. Tao Yushu looked solemn.
Lin Chaoyang once said a word called "Emperor in the Void", but in fact, all of this may be just her Emperor in the Void.
But Tao Yushu dared not underestimate Murdoch. Lin Chaoyang said something very right. People like Murdoch are not relying on being kind to others in the mall.
Looking at his thirty years of history of making a fortune, he took the initiative to come to the door, lower his attitude, and seek to buy it for his own standards, which is not his style.
There is no clear evidence now, and it is very likely that Murdoch's layout is too fine, and the antelope hangs its horns and is nowhere to be seen.
Faced with such a powerful and cunning opponent, Tao Yushu couldn't help but feel a strong fighting spirit in his heart.
During Christmas, "God of Gambling 2" produced by Lin's Pictures was released. The ace combination of Wang Jing and Chow Yun-fat joined forces again. "God of Gambling 2" showed a trend of sweeping the market as soon as it was released.
The box office exceeded HK$3 million on the first day, and the audience's reputation was good, helping the movie's box office break the 20 million mark in the first week.
It seems to be another big-selling work with a net worth of HK$50 million.
This is the second film of Lin's Film this year, and the third film in history that exceeded HK$50 million in its own territory.
The first part is "The Dead Official" by Stephen Chow last year, with a box office of HK$50.21 million; the second part is "The Dead Official" released in September
Black Man", box office of 51.64 million Hong Kong dollars.
For more than three months, "Black Man" has been released in Xiangjiang, Wandao, Mainland China, the United States, Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other regions and countries, with box office performances varying in various places.
Among them, the outstanding performances were Hong Kong, Mainland, Bay Island, the United States and South Korea, which achieved HK$51.64 million, NT$42.3 million, NT$226 million, US$103 million, and 451,200 respectively.
Japan and Southeast Asia's performance was unsatisfactory. Overall, the first round of "Black Man"'s global large-scale screenings had a cumulative box office of US$154 million.
For "The Black Man", which invested $30 million, this box office data can naturally be considered a big seller, and the net profit of $24 million is just a box office split after tax.
In the next six months, "Black Man" will be launched in Europe and America one after another.
Moreover, as a super-English action film in the category, "Black Man" has always had good revenues for video rental and sales and family broadcasts, and it is not a big problem to have a conservative estimate of the revenue exceeding US$40 million.
In addition, Lin's Film's stock price has also risen all the way through the film's hot sale, until "God of Gambling 2" was released.
Still selling well, Lin's Pictures' stock is so hot.
With four days left before New Year's Day in 1994, Lin's Film's market value finally broke the 20 billion Hong Kong dollar mark amid the market's enthusiasm.
At this time last year, Lin's Film's market value had just exceeded HK$12 billion, and in just one year, the increase reached 67%.
It cannot be called a monster stock, but this performance is definitely a high-performing stock.
The key is different from those monster stocks that are in the front line of life and death. Lin's Film has been listed for three years and its performance has steadily improved, and it has brought surprises to the market and investors from time to time.
It has completely won the trust of investors, and investors are also confident in the "internationalization" path portrayed by Lin's Pictures.
"Saw", "Red Cliff" and "Black Man", three consecutive films have achieved global box office of over US$100 million in one year, and the internationalization of Lin's Pictures has begun to show results.
At the end of December, the American Variety Magazine released a list of top 100 films in the world. "Jurassic Park" topped the list with an exaggerated score of $978 million, which is almost the sum of the second to tenth place.
Today, the United States is the world's largest movie ticket store, and its status is just like the global box office of "Jurassic Park" in 1993.
In this ranking list, Hollywood giants such as Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Twentieth Century Fox continue to appear repeatedly, and films produced in the United States account for at least 80%.
Hollywood's dominance in the international film industry can be seen!
But in such a list of Hollywood that dominates the absolute position, a company's name appeared suddenly several times. Lin's Pictures.
Even Lin's Film has three movies that have made it to the top ten, namely "The Black Man" ranked fifth.
($154 million), the sixth place "Red Cliff" ($149 million), and the ninth place "Saw" ($103 million).
"Variety Show" has been published for nearly 90 years. It is an American leading entertainment business magazine. It is known as the "Hollywood Bible". In recent years, it has gradually become one of the weather vanes of the global media and entertainment industry.
The authoritativeness of its global box office rankings naturally does not need to be questioned.
It is not uncommon for Hollywood movies to dominate various lists. The United States is now the world's dominant and its economic development is the world's largest. People have become accustomed to Hollywood's strength for many years.
However, the appearance of Lin's Raptor shocked the chin of the international film industry, causing many internationally renowned film companies to focus on this film company originated from Xiangjiang, and then became more and more shocked.
It has only been established for seven years, but it has dominated Xiangjiang, covered Southeast Asia, managed East Asia, and made Hollywood. What a terrifying monster this is?
A box office list of Variety Show magazine made Lin's Film make its voice sound on the world stage for the first time.
After the list was released to the group, it was quickly reprinted by "Xiangjiang Political and Economic Weekly", which caused widespread heated discussions among the Xiangjiang film industry and the citizens.
In the past, everyone knew that Lin's Film was very strong, so strong that he could dominate Xiangjiang, but due to his limited vision, everyone's understanding of Lin's Film was always not comprehensive enough.
Now you can see that according to the summary of the top 100 global box office films of Variety Show in 1993, Lin's Film has entered the top 100 films this year, and 3 of them even entered the top 10.
Perhaps because I think reprinting this list alone is not enough to attract attention, "Xiangjiang Political and Economic Weekly" has also thoughtfully counted the box office of films that Lin's Pictures has created around the world in the past year for readers of Xiangjiang.
$529 million!
Equivalent to HKD up to HK$4.02 billion!
The cold numbers don’t seem to be impactful enough, but I’m afraid of comparisons in everything. The total box office of the Hong Kong Film Market in 1993 was HK$1.53 billion, which is only 38% of the global box office of Lin’s Pictures.
Perhaps it is because I feel that the comparison with Xiangjiang movies can no longer show the strength of Lin's Film. "Xiangjiang Political and Economic Weekly" also attached some information about the American film industry.
In 1993, the total box office of the US film market was US$5.6 billion, while the global box office of Twentieth Century Fox was US$550 million.
Lin's Film's global box office accounts for one-tenth of the US film market, which is comparable to the Hollywood giants.
With this comparison, the effect will come immediately.
Not to mention the Xiangjiang film industry, even the entire business community and the public class could not help but have an admirable impression of Lin's Film.
Since the 1970s, Xiangjiang's economy has flourished and is known as one of the four Asian dragons, but it has rarely been born into a multinational company that has left Xiangjiang and moved to the world.
No one expected that the first to lead Xiangjiang business and culture to go global was a film company like Lin's Pictures.
During the New Year's Day in 1994, "Lin's Film Global Box Office" became a hot topic for discussion throughout Xiangjiang.
It is felt by everyone that they seem to be witnessing the rise of a global film company that rivals the Hollywood giant.
In such a fanatical atmosphere, Lin's Film's market value did not stop after exceeding HK$20 billion, but continued to advance to HK$23 billion.
Even the boss Tao Yushu felt a little scared, and there was a big drop after the big rise!
So she chose to take the initiative to cool down this wave of popularity. After the New Year's Day holiday, Lin's Pictures issued an announcement:
The major shareholder Lin's Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. plans to reduce its holdings of the company's shares in total through centralized bidding and bulk transactions within 3 months from the date of disclosure of this announcement, which is no more than 2% of the company's total share capital.
Chapter completed!