Chapter 1307 Shifting Targets Public Opinion Turmoil

In order to calm down the turmoil caused by a certain idiot, the richest man Wang had no choice but to promise a lot of things against his will. For example, he promised not to voluntarily lay off employees within a certain number of years, promised to retain a certain number of American employees, and he also promised to raise wages.

For a capitalist, this is definitely not something they are willing to take the initiative to do, but in order to appease the emotions of employees and for his most important plan at the moment, he can only make compromises.

Of course, the compromise is only for ordinary employees. Like the management who planned this, especially that idiot. Even if he ignores the disgust in his heart and only thinks about the stability of the company, he absolutely can't let these guys stay here.

It is inevitable to get out, but such a thing is not worth doing by the richest man himself. Rather than wasting time on such things, he needs to focus more on his most important plan at the moment.

Time Warner, his and Tony's second target. But for this goal, the richest man Wang is actually not that satisfied. The reason is simple. Although Time Warner is huge, it is also considered a giant in Hollywood. However, the entire Time Warner industry is not what he needs most.

What he needs is the TV industry, even if it is Fox TV in Fox, what he really needs is one that can occupy the top position in the entire American TV network system. On this issue, it is obviously not enough for Time Warner to only have part of the shares of Turner Television Network and CW Television Network under its name. He needed a bigger goal, and he had already thought about this goal, and that was Viacom, the media giant that held something as important as the CBS television network.

Of course, buying Viacom isn't going to be as easy as buying Twenty-First Century Fox. After all, 21st Century Fox is an industry separated from News Corporation, so it cannot be as huge as it used to be. A considerable part of News Corporation's business is located in the UK. With the destruction of the UK, the former media tycoon Murdoch's family is almost inevitably severely impacted.

Forty percent of the UK's paper media is controlled by him, which was a glorious rule in the past, but today, it is a nightmare for the entire Murdoch family. Although relying on the resources they have, they can still maintain a superficial brilliance, but in fact, they are already stretched in many places.

The impact of the stock market coupled with internal divisions has made it almost impossible for the Murdoch family to control the property under their own name. After all, they are only the largest shareholders themselves, and he can certainly be called the owner of the group if he can unite other shareholders. But with their own strength weakened and all shareholders in danger, it is of course impossible for them to continue to unite.

This is also the reason why the richest man Wang was able to successfully acquire 21st Century Fox. People's hearts are scattered, so it's better to fill such a vacancy with some tangible benefits.

Moreover, being able to take advantage of such an opportunity to cling to the richest man Wang, who has huge resources and connections in the mainland, will naturally be a good choice for the Murdoch family who urgently need to open up new markets and restore their own decline.

However, Viacom Group has no need to do so. Although their market has inevitably been affected to a certain extent by the turmoil in the United States, the problem is not so obvious for this media empire that has already extended its tentacles to the whole world. So of course, if the richest man wanted to attack him, it would not be as smooth as it is now.

The only thing he can borrow is the turmoil in the stock market, and although this can be regarded as having a certain impact, whether it can play a key role is still up for debate in the end. After all, this is an external factor, and it has never been these external factors that can really determine the final outcome of the problem. In the final analysis, everything still depends on strength.

Whether the funds in the hands of the richest man Wang can satisfy the shareholders of Viacom Group is the real key. The problem now is that he, who has already borrowed 200 billion and spent astronomical sums on the acquisition of 21st Century Fox, may not be able to come up with a satisfactory figure.

You know, when Viacom acquired CBS, it cost almost 46 billion U.S. dollars. In addition to CBS, there is also a behemoth like Paramount under his name. It is almost impossible to win it without 80 billion.

This kind of cross-border acquisition is best done quickly. If a sufficient price cannot be used to directly break the bottom line in the hearts of those shareholders, then things will inevitably become more and more nightmares. On this point, Tony also has a request. What he asks of Wang's richest man is to solve these problems as soon as possible. And as soon as possible, it is impossible to have no money in hand.

The U.S. dollar has depreciated sharply, but it has not reached the point where it is on par with the renminbi. As for the richest man Wang, who had already spent almost half of the funds, the funds in his hands were no longer enough. If he wanted to continue, he had to spend more funds, which was definitely impossible on his own. So after making up his mind, he immediately did such a thing, which was to mortgage the shares of Fox that he had just acquired to the bank.

He borrowed 180 billion directly from the central bank, and with this fund, he directly asked Viacom Group for a premium acquisition. In the face of this big move by the richest man, the entire American press, which had already heard about it, became crazy.

"The Chinese are crazy, they want to use money to conquer the world?" This is the headline given by the media who are crazy and incredible about the news.

"Arrogant Chinese, they will do the same thing as the Japanese." That was the headline of a complaint, even resentment, about this madness.

"The American television network has fallen into the hands of the Chinese. Starting today, we will see the United States in the hands of the Chinese?"

Almost in an instant, the entire American media and the Internet were flooded with such and such discourses, and these voices, without exception, were almost all accusing the Chinese of their terrible behavior. Such a thing, if there is no one behind the scenes, it is absolutely impossible.

This point, even the richest man Wang who has just set foot on the land of the United States can see it, so immediately, he ordered the American media power he had just acquired to launch his own campaign against this unhealthy trend in public opinion. counterattack.

"Fox changed hands, and the stock price began to rise. A shot in the arm for the turmoil in the US stock market!"

"An inclusive country and a tolerant society can forge such a diverse civilization today. Welcome, Chinese, to join the American media family!"

"The king of China promised to open up more markets and promise more job opportunities. This may be a turning point for the United States, where the employment situation is currently sluggish!"

"Where is the future of the United States? Cooperation may be our only chance."

Although the attacks from the media were fierce, there were quite a few people speaking for him from the standpoint of the richest man. Especially after the media announced the richest man Wang's commitment to the Fox employees, the overall public opinion tended to shift towards him. Such a change is really unexpected, and for the person who brewed all this behind the scenes, it is even more intolerable.

Sumner Redstone, the major shareholder of Viacom's board of directors, is now banging the table and yelling at the unscrupulous media the most violently.

"These bitch media, do they know what they are talking about? Why do they want to speak for the Chinese? Don't they know what will happen if our current market is invaded by the Chinese?"

As the head of Viacom, the emperor who led the company to the top in one fell swoop. Lei Shidong has the only voice in the entire group. He has the highest authority and the highest right to speak. Even other shareholders are often subdued under his power.

After all, for most shareholders, all they want is benefits. As long as Lei Shidong can always bring them substantial benefits, then even if they tolerate him a little, it's no big deal.

Like now, when Lei Shidong is furious about something, most of the shareholders will endure it silently without saying a word. But unfortunately, this is something that only happened in the past. As Redstone put down his power and returned to the board of directors, and Viacom's interests were not as good as one day. Many shareholders are already dissatisfied with the status quo of the company and Lei Shidong's violent temper.

Therefore, when he yelled and scolded like this, shareholders said to him almost immediately.

"Mr. Lei Shidong, calm down. We are having a shareholders meeting, not listening to you swearing at others. If you want to swear, go back to your home, face your walls and dogs, whatever you want How to scold!"

"You!" Hearing this, Lei Shidong, who has always been violent, immediately wanted to divert his firepower. But when he thought carefully about the power represented by this shareholder, he immediately extinguished this thought abruptly. Although he is violent, he is not a fool. He is still clear about who can offend and who cannot.

So taking a deep breath, he changed his tone and said loudly to all the shareholders present.

"Okay, since it's the general meeting of shareholders, let me talk about something related to the general meeting of shareholders. First of all, as the major shareholder of Viacom, I must express my attitude. I will never accept this Chinese bid, No matter how high his bid is, it is impossible. Viacom will never sell to a Chinese, absolutely!"