Chapter 1287

"I read today's briefing. What's with the Miami Herald? And what's the news from the Chicago Tribune? "

Andy sipped his coffee and saw that Al was left alone in the conference room in the video window. Then he put down his coffee cup and asked.

"Due to debt, the newspaper giant mclarch Newspaper Group intends to sell a key member of its Miami Herald, they contacted all interested buyers of the newspaper industry.

As for Tribune newspaper companies, judging from the information we have collected, they will apply for bankruptcy protection later. However, this bankruptcy protection application should be aimed at restructuring the company's debts and will not affect the normal operation of newspapers and TV stations under its jurisdiction. "

Al explained to Andy that he was very clear about the importance his boss attached to the media industry, regardless of the current paper media's distress, layoffs, sales and bankruptcy, but the discourse power of these 100 year old newspapers could not be ignored and underestimated.

Even though the market squeezed by the Internet is shrinking, the advertising revenue is plummeting, and it's hard to survive, but we have to admit that in the face of the Internet, where it's difficult to distinguish the truth from the news, the credibility and influence of these brand newspapers are still the first choice for people to choose to distinguish the truth.

There is no doubt that the advantages of the Internet are fast propagation, rich information, and the most important thing is free, which is beyond the competition of traditional paper media, but it also makes all kinds of information flooding the network, making it difficult to distinguish the true from the false, which is also the biggest problem defect of the Internet.

Al is also aware of the reforms his boss is carrying out in several rival newspapers. Instead of seizing the update speed of the news with the Internet, the newspapers issued by al are interpreting the news in a deeper way to help the people to distinguish and understand the real events, rather than simply explaining a news in a few lines like those on the Internet. The speed is very fast, but it also helps to People watching the news don't know why.

In terms of the current operation of several newspapers, the reform is very successful. Even if it is a loss, it is only a loss of millions of dollars. For Andy, this kind of small money is acceptable. After all, in the current economic environment, it is difficult not to lose money.

That's why Andy dares to buy those high-quality brand newspapers and magazines when the traditional newspaper industry is in recession and going downhill. Rather than buying newspapers, what Andy buys is the credibility and influence that people instinctively believe.

In 2007, American real estate tycoon Samuel Zell bought BBS with a total amount of US $8.3 billion in the form of highly leveraged financial operation and employee stock option plan. After the successful acquisition, all the loans were transferred to BBS. Now, the debt has exceeded US $12 billion.

Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, last month downgraded the debt rating of BBS to junk, saying the financial crisis would prevent the group from selling assets and limit the amount of money it could raise.

The forum company, headquartered in Chicago, has been established for 161 years. It is the newspaper group with the second annual income and the third total circulation in the United States. Its Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune ranked fourth and eighth in U.S. sales.

Andy has been keeping an eye on the main purpose of the forum company, which is to take a look at the Los Angeles Times in their hands. If he wants to become another Wasserman in Hollywood, the most influential newspaper in California, he will definitely get it.

"In the past year, the Los Angeles Times has been struggling under unstable conditions. It has reorganized its editorial department twice, replaced its editorial director, and forced layoffs. At the same time, its parent company's debt situation has not improved, and their advertising revenue and sales volume have declined significantly.

Boss, if you want to buy the Los Angeles Times, you need to spend about $200-400 million. " Al introduced.

"Well?" Andy frowns, looks at al in disbelief and asks, "why is the fund range so large?"

"Located in the golden corner of the city center, adjacent to the city hall, the 80 year old Los Angeles Times building is the key chip and the main reason for the large range of acquisition funds. In my briefing, I proposed that the main reason for the boss to consider the Miami Herald is that the newspaper also has a headquarters building located in a superior area of Biscayne Bay.

And as long as the $220 million Miami Herald, if real estate picks up in the future, this building alone can offset most of the acquisition costs. "

After hearing al's analysis, Andy also sighed with emotion. It must be said that this is a very sad thing. The situation of the newspaper industry is bleak. Their physical office buildings are likely to be much more valuable than the newspaper itself. If the building happens to be located in a senior middle-class community, then its value can be doubled.

Losangeles times and Miami Herald undoubtedly have a very valuable headquarters building, and now the US is in the period of the bursting of the real estate bubble, and the valuation of these buildings has been completely reduced to a minimum.

Andy felt his chin and fell into thinking. The Miami Herald, founded in 1903, is the second largest newspaper in South Florida. In addition to Florida, it is also distributed throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 800 employees.There's no doubt about its brand value. To be honest, Andy doesn't pay much attention to the price of more than 200 million dollars. For him, these are small money, just like people with hundreds of dollars walking into the "2 yuan store" to buy things, they never care about spending 2 yuan.

What's more, it's worth more. Since al thinks their headquarters building is of high value, it must be a big bargain to make. Andy absolutely believes in Al's judgment.

"Then, send someone to contact and negotiate with mclarch newspaper group. I will fly to Miami before November 6, and then finish the deal. By the way, send someone to contact the forum company to tell them that I am very interested in the Los Angeles Times. As a Los Angeles person, I am very clear that Californians want this newspaper to come back to the hands of local people... ”

al's face is expressionless, but his mouth is still unnatural. His boss has all sorts of strange reasons. Boss, you seem to be a new Yorker, right? Is living in Los Angeles a Los Angeles person?

"OK, boss, I'll arrange someone to contact the other party at once. The problem of the Herald is not big. The mcclarch group is eager to sell, and is eager to collect funds to get rid of the debt, but the Los Angeles Times may encounter some problems. Samuel Zell, though playing badly, has just bought the forum company, which may not easily admit defeat."

"Then let the news that I intend to buy the Los Angeles Times go out and let his creditors force him to make a choice. I want to see that Mingming has the opportunity to pay back the money, but I want to apply for bankruptcy protection. Creditors like Barclays and Mg chase will be kind enough to help him get out of bankruptcy for several years!"

Andy is very calm about the possible troubles. For the forum company that owes a Pigu debt, it doesn't need to rush to ask for being slaughtered. It has to go bankrupt. The hardest thing is the banks that lent money to Samuel. Now they have an opportunity to let the forum company pay the first interest. They will never make Samuel feel better.

"I see, boss." Al nodded and said, "boss, Starbucks' acquisition plan, when will it start?"

"When I've finished the work in France, you can start. I'm just going to air Ge first. Don't they always think it's up to me? Ha ha, I'll transfer the acquisition target and take the time to see if they are in a hurry! " Andy sneers.

Al, who got a clear answer, nodded. He still admired his big boss's decisions. He was patient and resolute enough, and he would not be blinded by his momentary gains and losses. This appeared in a young man in his twenties, which was undoubtedly quite surprising and beyond the age of maturity.

Andy doesn't know what his most valued employees think of him. The only thing he has to do next is to spend all his money before the end of the financial crisis and replace it with high-quality assets that can make him lie and earn in the future years!