Rebirth of Hong Kong - 1978

Chapter 2405 Are you too crazy?
"Mr. Richardson welcomes you, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon..."

"Thank you for your reception. I would like to thank you for taking the time to meet me for taking the liberty to visit today."

Richardson came to the headquarters of "News Corp" the next day. Originally, he wanted to meet Murdoch directly, but the other party told him that Murdoch was not available now.

Although he couldn't see Murdoch, Richardson couldn't just leave empty-handed like this, so he met the deputy general manager of "News Corporation" Hodrickson.

Hodrickson was also there when Lin Daoqiu and Murdoch met for the first time before, and they followed Lin Daoqiu and Murdoch at that time.

Richardson and Hodrickson also had a brief chat on the golf course for a while, but it was just a romantic affair and did not involve Fox Films.

"You are too kind. MGM, as the leading film company in Hollywood, often appears in our news and newspaper reports. It is my honor to have the opportunity to meet you again."

Judging from the first impression he had met with Hodrickson before, Richardson's opinion of him can be said to be very good. Although he failed to meet Murdoch, at least he did not sit on the bench this time.

After the two exchanged a few simple greetings, Hodrickson invited Richardson to his office.

For "News Corp."'s attitude, Richardson has made a simple guess before coming.

Judging from Murdoch's reluctance to see him, Richardson guessed that the other party hadn't calmed down, or he believed that only Lin Daoqiu could be equal to him, so he refused to see him.

But no matter what the situation is, for Richardson, the main purpose of this trip to "News Corp." is to test the other party's attitude.

Whether the matter can be negotiated is secondary. After all, Richardson didn't expect him to be able to finalize this matter right away when he came here from the beginning.

Of course, if the price is right, Richardson doesn't mind finalizing the matter today, but the possibility of this is too low, and he doesn't have any hope for it at all.

"The boss has been busy with the TV station recently, and basically rarely comes to the company, and even if he comes, he is busy with meetings with everyone. I hope you don't misunderstand."

Hodrickson seemed to be explaining to Richardson why Murdoch didn't see him, but Richardson didn't believe his words at all.

But even so, Richardson still had to pretend to be suddenly enlightened, and to show a very understanding look. After all, everyone knew this kind of thing well and there was no need to point it out.

"Actually, it's also my fault that I came for a sudden visit without an appointment in advance. It's normal for Mr. Murdoch to not have time to see me. I won't complain about it."

"You are really a considerate person. Oh yes, what's the matter with you this trip? If it's an urgent matter, you can tell me. I will definitely report to the boss as soon as possible."

The purpose of Hodrickson's meeting with Richardson was actually to find out what the purpose of the other party's coming was, and whether they were here to make an offer as they had guessed.

If this is the case, then he can have a good chat with Richardson about how much Fox is worth.

"I believe that Mr. Hodrickson should have known before that New Oriental Pictures intends to acquire Fox Films, so I am here today as an outpost."

"So that's it. I've heard the boss mention this matter before, but he was not in a good mood when he mentioned it. You were there at the time, I believe you should also be able to see it."

Richardson nodded. He did see Murdoch's angry expression at the time, but Richardson naturally didn't take this matter to heart.

"It may be that there was some misunderstanding during the communication between Mr. Lin and Mr. Murdoch. In fact, this is not a big problem. Just clarify the misunderstanding."

Hodrickson didn't expect that Richardson would want to dismiss this matter lightly, this guy is really shrewd enough.

But the question is how could Hodrickson allow Richardson to erase this matter so easily. This is a weapon they can use to raise the price, and it cannot be thrown away casually.

"You may not know that our boss is actually a very good-tempered person. I have never seen my boss lose his temper since I joined "News Corporation". It was the first time I saw him at that time."

"You are right, but the past has passed, and it is meaningless to mention it again. The purpose of my coming here today is not only to resolve misunderstandings, but also to talk to your company about the acquisition of Fox Films. talk."

When Richardson finished speaking, Hodrickson suddenly shook his head at him.

"Sir, if your company wants to acquire our shares in Fox Films, it must be approved by our boss. Do you think it is possible under such circumstances?"

"Of course it's possible. I don't think you should be emotional when doing business. And I believe that Mr. Murdoch has been in this business for so many years. He must be very experienced in controlling emotions."

If it wasn't for hearing what kind of offer Richardson brought, Hodrickson would really like to ask him out of his office.

"Okay, let's put this matter aside for the time being. Since your company wants to acquire [-]% of Fox Films' shares from us, how much do you plan to pay?"

This is the crux of the matter. As long as Murdoch can make an offer that Murdoch can't refuse, Hodrickson believes that the previous unhappiness will disappear.

"Mr. Murdoch spent 5000 million to buy these shares. After several years, although the performance of Fox Films is still very poor, we still decided to give a very sincere offer, [-] million US dollars, And bear all the debts of the company."

Lin Daoqiu just wanted to buy Fox Films alone, so in Richardson's view, the price of [-] million US dollars can be said to be very reasonable.

Moreover, after they bought the Fox Film Company, they had to help pay off the debt. Although they don't know how much, it was at least two to three hundred million.

"[-] million US dollars plus the repayment of the Fox Film Company's debts. I have estimated your asking price a little, it is about [-] million US dollars, um..."

Hodrickson stopped short mid-sentence, looking as though he was seriously considering Richardson's offer.

Richardson knew that he couldn't speak casually at this time, so he sat there quietly and waited for Hodrickson.

"Although this offer seems sincere, it doesn't really reflect the value of Fox Films. In addition to repaying debts, I think 15 billion should be a very reasonable price."

After Hodrickson finished speaking, Richardson's eyes began to slowly widen.

He couldn't help but looked at the other side in surprise and asked.

"Can you repeat what you just said?"

"In addition to repaying debts, an additional 15 billion is a more reasonable price."

After listening to Richardson, he was sure that the other party was right. 15 billion plus debt repayment, when was Fox Films worth so much money? Are the people at News Corp. crazy?This is too nonsense.

(End of this chapter)