American Peanuts

Chapter 248 Split, Confrontation of Information Transparency

Amidst a blazing continuum of strobe lights, James Murdoch stepped onto the podium, tilting his microphone up slightly.

However, his hands were trembling a little.

This subtle movement was quickly keenly captured by the reporters present, and the speed of pressing the shutter quickly increased.

James Murdoch's eyes passed through the teleprompter and looked at a mirror on the wall opposite the press hall. He knew that the old Murdoch was looking at him from behind the single-transparent curtain wall.

James Murdoch spoke briefly, but after the tossing and turning last night, his voice became a little hoarse.

"The problems that arose within News Corporation were directly caused by me. I secretly ordered the privacy surveillance of some British and Australian political and business figures, and tried to find some news worth breaking. All of this was led by me and had nothing to do with my father. I hid any relationship from him..." James said with a complicated expression.

"In other words, you admit to all the allegations so far against News Corp?"

"According to your statement, Murdoch Sr. was completely unaware of this matter, right?"

"How did you hide it from Old Murdoch?"

Facing the barrage of questions from reporters in the audience, James swallowed his saliva and said with difficulty: "Yes, as I said before, this is all led by me and has nothing to do with anyone else. , As for the specific details, I will surrender to the local prosecutor immediately after the press conference and state more detailed facts..." Halfway through the words, James felt dizzy, and he began to support him with both hands. The podium didn't help, and he finally fell straight to the ground with a plop.

The staff standing nearby rushed forward immediately. There was a commotion at the scene. Some reporters tried to rush over and record James' situation at the first moment.

Fortunately, James just fainted due to excessive nervousness, and then a new spokesperson came to power. In addition to maintaining order, it also included a series of follow-up arrangements for James Murdoch, including the removal of James from all positions within the group, press release After the meeting is completed, it will be handed over to the relevant supervision department as soon as possible.

"We deeply apologize for the lax management within the group and would like to apologize to everyone again. Next, the group will conduct self-examination to clean out all those who violate professional ethics and maintain the integrity of News Group and its various affiliates. Fairness and objectivity of media brands..."

The temporary fire spokesman began to talk about News Corporation's aftermath of the incident.

The spectacular wiretapping scandal also ended with James taking on all responsibilities.

For the remaining half day, Old Murdoch never spoke. He only listened to relevant reports from multiple subordinates, and his response was limited to nodding or shaking his head.

To the uninformed, Old Murdoch's reaction seems to be out of disappointment in his son. After all, what James has done has exceeded the bottom line.

And only a few people who know the inside story can truly understand the old Murdoch's thoughts at this moment.

The eldest son was assassinated, and the younger son had to stand up and personally resist all the blame. It can be said that within a week, the succession system that Murdoch spent decades cultivating fell apart.

And considering that Murdoch is now in his 70s...it won't be surprising what will happen tomorrow.

Some people may even think that this is the beginning of the disintegration of News Corporation. After all, under today's circumstances, if something unexpected happens to Murdoch Sr., the board of directors will be in great chaos.After all, Murdoch's eldest daughter, second daughter, and two sons all hold one vote in the company, and without Murdoch's four voting rights, the situation is not much better.

Murdoch works until 9 pm as usual. As a workaholic, his schedule has never changed in any way, and it has been the same for 50 years.When he got into the luxury business car, Murdoch's eyes did not look like a father who had lost his child.

But...as ferocious as a wolf!

Yes, he didn't feel disappointed at all.

The younger son, under his orders, personally stood up to bear all responsibilities and consequences.

In return, he promised that he could continue to hold important positions in News Corporation after he was released from prison, if... he could live to that day.

Although in the eyes of ordinary people, he has lost everything, Murdoch does not feel that way. The only thing that makes him regret is that he did not kick his two sons out of the management earlier.

Although these two sons have worked by his side for so many years, Murdoch never really felt that any of them had the ability to truly succeed News Corporation.

This is also the reason why he has not retired.

With the end of this huge public relations crisis, the problem of Murdoch's successor has also been put on the table.

In the afternoon, some of his subordinates came to report the matter, and some shareholders hoped that Murdoch could determine the successor as soon as possible. Some shareholders even took the opportunity to make trouble and ask Murdoch to retire.

Murdoch has fought with these people all his life, so he naturally knows how to deal with these people, and now Murdoch has two choices in front of him.

Should a new successor be selected according to the original plan, or...

Split News Corporation and package and sell its entertainment brands, its main source of profit.

In the past few days, Murdoch decided to think clearly about this issue.

News Corporation can be roughly divided into the news department and the entertainment department.

The news sector includes traditional print media all over the world. Although it has been impacted by the Internet in recent years, fortunately, through transformation, it has maintained a part of the market share, but it is only a part. It is conceivable that in the next few years, , with the growing strength of online media, the glory of traditional media will never return.

Over the years, Murdoch has long understood that the news field is an industry with high investment, high risk and low return.

The entertainment sector is just the opposite. For many years, [-]th Century Fox has been the main source of News Corporation's profits.This was magnified again with the creation of Fox TV.

At this moment, it is clear that Fox also has more high-quality assets within Fox, which is the core of News Corporation.

As for traditional news, Murdoch also feels that no one can do it better than him.

But when it comes to movies, he has to draw a question mark...

"What I told you is correct. Murdoch Sr. indeed ordered the split of News Corporation and packaged the more profitable entertainment business separately."

"Obviously, there is a divestiture going on within News Corp. I think this is Murdoch Sr. preparing to sell the entertainment business."

On the other end of the phone, Laclau said excitedly.

He really couldn't figure out why Carl was so sure that Murdoch would try to sell the Fox brand. He knew a lot about Charlie Rossi. This fast-rising young man made several decisions like a gambler. But it happened that he was right every time, and it was the same this time. In a sense, he was obviously a person favored by fate.

Only Charlie himself knows that there is no favor from fate. He just put the old Murdoch in a dilemma a few years in advance. In his previous life, he chose to find a buyer for the Fox brand in this situation. But this time It was even worse than in his previous life. At least in the previous life, Laclau reconciled with Murdoch and finally returned to the company. This time Laclau completely broke up with his father.

Therefore, under such circumstances, Murdoch will naturally choose the same choice as last time - sell Fox.

"The next step is for me to step forward." Charlie said slowly about his next plan.

The next step is for Charlie to come forward in person and talk to Murdoch about the acquisition. If it is just a negotiation, I believe Murdoch will not refuse.

·
Three days later, in Murdoch's private winery, Charlie slowly shook the goblet in his hand, and talked with Murdoch about the future development of the company.

"Hollywood originals will become more difficult in the future. Big studios tend to invest in sequels, derivatives, and prequels, which are safer investments. From this point of view, Time Warner-Infinite has broad prospects, and we have all the The world's richest copyright library has an absolute advantage in the field of comics. In the last century, Disney started with animated films, but in this century, Time Warner-Infinite will win over a large number of young audiences, and only young audiences are the most popular in theaters. customer of."

"They're going to buy popcorn after all," Murdoch responded with a smile.

"That's right." Charlie raised his glass.

Their wine glasses collided in mid-air, and the discussion between Charlie and Murdoch seemed very harmonious. After all, one wanted to buy and the other wanted to sell.

I'm afraid Murdoch never imagined that this young man who was nothing like him was the mastermind behind the eavesdropping scandal in the first place.

"As for the specific price... I hope it can reach this number." Murdoch whispered in Charlie's ear.

"And it is guaranteed that no less than 30% will be cash, and the rest will be completed by exchanging shares. From now on, we will all be colleagues. Don't worry, I will not interfere in your young people's affairs. I will hold these shares in the form of a family trust. "Murdoch said repeatedly.

In essence, this transaction is a cooperation. Murdoch handed over the chips in his hand in exchange for a ticket to the future.

This is in line with his logic. Since his son does not have this ability, he will naturally hand it over to someone else who is capable.

"This...I'm afraid..." Charlie looked embarrassed at this moment.

"As you know, multiple projects within the company are currently underway at the same time. For us, Fox, as an entertainment brand with a long history, is certainly worth the price, but I'm afraid we don't have that much cash, and in fact, it's not the same within the company. My words, if I have to use such a large amount of funds, I’m afraid it will be vetoed by other shareholders.”

Murdoch smiled slightly: "Young man, this is something you need to deal with yourself. You have to know that Fox is not the only company interested in you."

This old fox obviously won't listen to Charlie Rossi easily.

As the saying goes, if you have good stuff in your hands, you won’t have to worry about no one buying it.

There are only a few big movie studios in total now, so they won't sell them cheaply.

"Excuse me, I have a party to attend tonight." Murdoch put the unfinished wine glass on the table and asked the servant to send his men away.

And just at the door, Charlie saw another familiar figure, Disney CEO and Chairman of the Board Bob Iger, getting out of the car.The other party also noticed Charlie.

He even nodded slightly at Charlie.

Obviously, this was directed by Murdoch, allowing two potential buyers to meet and preferably take turns bidding to ensure that they can obtain the maximum benefit.

And Disney, this competitor, seems to be quite troublesome at the moment.

In the previous life, Disney finally won Fox, and the final transaction volume reached 713 billion US dollars.Of course, according to Disney's current total market value of US$592 billion, it is naturally impossible to give such a high price.

The current total share capital of Time Warner-Infinite is 5.94 million shares. The stock price has been rising since the merger and has reached a high of US$100, with a market value of more than US$500 billion.

In terms of the company's cash holdings, according to public financial reports, Disney's current cash holdings are US$27.22 billion, which is much more than Time Warner-Infinite.

It can be said that Time Warner-Infinite cannot compare with its competitors in terms of market capitalization or cash. More importantly, there are obviously voices of opposition within the company.

Not to mention taking the initiative to help Charlie, not holding back would be considered a sign of kindness.

Combined with all these reasons, if Disney insists on acquiring it, it will be difficult for Charlie to provide sufficient conditions to compete.

I'm afraid this is also the reason why the other party took the initiative to nod to me, somewhat like a winner.

After all, this is a confrontation with completely transparent information. Players on both sides already know one thing and the other before they leave the field.

However, the public information is related to the company.

Isn't there some undisclosed information?
Charlie saw a mother and daughter on the lawn not far away.

It was a middle-aged woman playing on the lawn with her two daughters.

Of course, Murdoch's estate has strong security forces, and Charlie can see them because he was invited.

Aware of the distant gaze, Ms. Deng raised her head and looked at Charlie Rossi from a distance.

Charlie motioned to her, then turned and left.

Not long after leaving Murdoch's manor, Keira forwarded a message to Charlie.

It was Laclau who was asking about the progress of the negotiations. Now he and Charles were completely in the same boat. If Charles' acquisition was unsuccessful, everything he had done would be in vain.

Charlie called Laclau directly.

"How is the Murdoch family's property divided?"

"Why do you ask this?" Laclau felt strange in his heart.

"The acquisition negotiations are actually going very smoothly, but we have to prepare for the worst. Disney is also interested in Fox. If they make a move, we don't have enough leverage."

"What? This is different from what you promised at the beginning. You said that Disney would never be interested in Fox."

"But the fact is that they do have this plan. Now we can only try some other methods to increase our chances of winning. Tell me how does old Murdoch plan to arrange his property?"

Most wills in the world will not be made public, but this does not include super-rich people like Murdoch, because the interests involved are too great and can easily cause chain reactions. Therefore, most super-rich people have already arranged their wills before their death. thing.

At least the family members will know a rough plan.

"Which side do you want to hear? I can only tell you what happened before 2005. After that, I was effectively expelled from the family."

"enough."

After all, Murdoch's two little daughters were born in 00 and 01.

(End of this chapter)