Chapter 1203 Dutch Satellite Team

"Acquisition of shares in Los Angeles FC?"

Finally figured out Yang Cheng's order, Ian Ayer was quite puzzled.

"Yes, I plan to build a huge football network with Liverpool as the core, and Los Angeles FC is just the first step." Yang Cheng threw out his plan.

"But is Los Angeles FC really worth buying? Selling our first-team players for this?"

"In recent years, Major League Soccer has developed rapidly. Not only has it expanded the Eastern and Western Leagues, but the traditional giants have also achieved remarkable results in recruiting European stars. In the future, we may consider Los Angeles FC as Liverpool's retirement team. The most meritorious players provide a pension contract after the age of 30, but they will not stay away from the pitch."

Ian Ayre made an analogy, "That is to say, we also want to acquire a team from a low-level European league to transfuse blood for Liverpool's first team?"

Yang Cheng affirmed, "This is only a preliminary plan. The long-term plan is to acquire local teams in markets with football foundations such as Asia, South America, and Africa, so as to tap talents from all over the world."

Ian Ayre became excited, "As far as I know, Manchester City is doing a similar plan."

"Yes, to complete this plan, you need long-term patience and long-term capital investment. There are not many bosses in the world who can do this."

Yang Cheng intentionally or unintentionally put gold on her face.

"If this is the case, I fully support the boss's decision. Go and communicate with Mr. Loew now, and send a few players who can't play in the first team to Cardiff City, and their careers will not be delayed."

"That's right, as long as I get the shares in Cardiff City, I can get the absolute control of Los Angeles FC, and help me test Steven to see if he is willing to move to the American Major League next season. "

In fact, although Gerrard is still in the first team roster this season and has made contributions in key games, his physical strength has obviously not kept up with the rhythm of the Premier League and the Champions League, and he has been suffering from minor injuries. At this time, he voluntarily quit the team to save Your own reputation is the wisest choice.

Now Yang Cheng has given him a step up. Leaving Liverpool does not mean retirement. He can continue to shine in the American major leagues. Los Angeles is much more livable than Liverpool.

"I understand, I will have a good chat with Steven, I believe he will understand the painstaking efforts of the boss."

Yang Cheng hummed, "Also,

To start screening the next acquisition target, the level of the league you are in cannot be too low. "

Ian Ayre thought for a while, "The five major leagues are basically impossible, even for the bottom-tier teams in Ligue 1 and Bundesliga, it is more troublesome to operate.

Therefore, the non-rich teams in the Eredivisie and Portuguese Super League are the first choice, which can not only give young players the opportunity to exercise, but will not meet us in the Champions League. "

"So is there a goal?" Yang Cheng didn't expect Ian Ayer to have an answer so soon.

"The Eredivisie, compared with the Portuguese Super League, which is now a black shop in Europe, although the Eredivisie has declined due to economic reasons, the youth training system in the Netherlands is very complete, and as long as a little investment is made, it will be rewarded."

Yang Cheng nodded, "That makes sense, so which team is it?"

"Ajax and PSV Eindhoven, two regulars in the Champions League, need not think about it. Some mid-range teams have not achieved outstanding results, but their success is stable, and there are no major financial problems. There is a possibility of acquisition, but it is not necessary. What a waste of money, anyway, our purpose is to provide young players with opportunities to practice games, and a sound youth training system is enough.

So I think the Twente team can be used as a priority. "

"Twente?" Yang Cheng grew from a football rookie to a club owner, and it took a total of one year. It is already good to have a little understanding of the mainstream European leagues. It is simply unrealistic to expect him to know a small Dutch football club. .

Ian Ayre also knew this, so he continued, "This is a 50-year-old club located in Enschede, the Netherlands, with a training center and a stadium under its name.

Having accidentally won the Eredivisie championship many years ago, it can be said that this is a small club with only foundation.

At present, due to the year-on-year decline in performance and the sluggish economy in the Netherlands, the major shareholders of the club resolutely withdraw their capital, and the minority shareholders are unable to support them. The team is currently on the verge of bankruptcy. "

Yang Cheng touched his chin, "Ian, have you been staring at Twente for a long time?"

Otherwise, it would be too strange, why is it that Ian El is like a treasure when he asks this question.

"No, how is that possible? It's just that our scouts are active in the Netherlands all year round, and the direct distance between the Netherlands and us is only 1,000 kilometers. Any news will reach our ears as soon as possible."

"Okay, how much money do you think we need to acquire Twente, and do I need to inject additional capital?" Yang Cheng cared about the result, not the process.

"There is no need to pay a penny. As far as I know, with the help of the prefectural ZF, Twente is trying to find capital to take over the project. If the efforts fail, the final result can only be taken over by the prefectural ZF.

I don't think the ZF side is willing to take over this mess, so whether it's Twente or the prefectural ZF side, it's too late to be happy about our appearance. Who wants to make a fortune from it?

Of course, we must take over the debts together, so the figure will not be too high, at most 20 million euros, and we can independently take over this debt without the need for additional capital injection from the boss. "

"I see, let's start to act, the good news I'm waiting for."

. . .

Hanging up the phone, he shook his hand at Jan Klovsky, "The problem is solved. Once the shares in Cardiff City's hands are won, I want us to contact the remaining shareholders as soon as possible and ask them to hand over their shares, otherwise I will inject capital." Dilute it, and it turned out to be the same for me."

To deal with these small shareholders with little strength, Yang Cheng's strategy is simple and rude, just go all the way, and don't want to waste a word.

After completing the acquisition of Los Angeles FC and Twente, Yang Cheng's sports industry layout has basically been completed.

So far, counting the two teams that have not been completely acquired, Yang Cheng already has Liverpool, Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Panthers, which was renamed this summer, and he is also planning to acquire an MLB team. Baseball is a national sport not inferior to rugby in the United States. If you don't participate in it, you will easily suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Calculated in this way, New Era Sports can be established in advance, and then it can go public and collect money after a round of financing.

No, there is still something missing. New Era Sports still lacks the ability to hold events with global influence.

"Yanko, do you know anything about sports marketing companies?"

"Of course, the boss doesn't know. I used to work for MG Stanley and was responsible for the merger of WME and IMG in 2013."

Yang Cheng became interested, "Tell me~"

"WME, which started as a sports economy back then, and Silver Lake Capital completed the acquisition of IMG at a price of 2.4 billion US dollars. However, Silver Lake Capital has a 51% controlling stake, which can be said to be the biggest winner of this transaction."

Yang Cheng frowned, "WME? What does it have to do with Hollywood's WMA?"

Yanke spread his hands, "The predecessor of WME is WMA, which is also a new company that merged. It dominates the American entertainment industry. After the acquisition of IMG, it expanded its business in the sports economy and built WME-IMG into a company in one fell swoop. One of the world's largest cultural and sports economic companies, its stars span Hollywood and sports circles.

The merger of IMG is also a helpless move. From the perspective of the global sports agency market, it is not uncommon for large companies to hold together for warmth. As more and more individuals or organizations start to set up their own businesses, who can grasp the core to the maximum extent? Resources, whoever takes the initiative in market competition.

Of course, the combination of WME and IMG is not as simple as 1+1=2. The new company has not stopped the pace of introducing capital, because WME-IMG has aimed at the top IP no matter in the field of entertainment or sports.

Throughout 2015, WME-IMG completed a total of 12 investments, involving sports, music, fashion and other fields, especially in the sports field. It not only acquired the big IP of professional bull riding competition, but also made two investments in the e-sports field. investment.

If the boss wants to invest now, the cost will be several times higher than before. "

One sentence dispelled Yang Cheng's desire to acquire WME-IMG. Judging from the situation, it is impossible to win this giant brokerage company without billions of dollars.

"And as far as I know, RB Softbank Group is negotiating with WME-IMG. The specific investment amount has not yet been determined. It should be around US$300 million. These funds will continue to be used for WME-IMG to integrate and acquire core entertainment stars and sports event resources.

If Softbank's capital injection is successful, the market valuation of WME-IMG will exceed US$5.5 billion.

Not only that, two national sovereign wealth funds of Canada and Singapore are also in contact with WME-IMG. There are rumors that WME-IMG is eyeing the super IP of UFC. Once it is acquired by it, WME-IMG's dominance will not be shaken. "

Yang Cheng clutched her forehead, "Well, I've made things simple. It seems that not only has I set my sights on the big cake in the field of sports and entertainment, but the little RB is not far behind.

It should be known that SoftBank Group’s main investment target was in the field of technology before, and it was not easy for WME-IMG to attract SoftBank’s investment, which shows that its position in the field of sports and entertainment cannot be underestimated.

No, the bargain cannot be taken by others, and he asked impatiently, "Other than that? Is there any target suitable for our acquisition?"

Janklovski smiled wryly, "These ~ the five largest sports marketing giants in the world are all backed by top-level capital. It is no less difficult to acquire a wholly-owned subsidiary than to directly acquire a media group."

Yang Cheng shook his index finger, "No, there must be fish that slipped through the net. Think about it carefully, you don't have to limit the scope to the United States. There must be companies with good strength in Europe and Asia. They may have developed well before, but The decline in performance in recent years has brought the company to the brink of crisis."

Not to mention, after Yang Cheng reminded him, Janklovsky really thought of a name, "French Lagardère Group."