American Fortune Life

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

Andy sipped the coffee, and after seeing that Al was left in the conference room in the video window, he put down the coffee cup and asked.

"Because of the debt, newspaper giant McClatchy News Group intends to sell one of its important members, the Miami Herald, and they contacted all buyers interested in the newspaper industry.

As for the forum newspaper company, according to the information we have collected, they will apply for bankruptcy protection at a later date. However, this application for bankruptcy protection should be aimed at restructuring the company's debt and will not affect the normal newspapers and television stations of its company. Operations. "

Al explained to Andy that he knew very well that his boss valued the media industry. Don't look at the current sadness of the paper media, layoffs, sell-offs, sell-offs, bankruptcy and bankruptcy, but the right to speak in these century-old newspapers is Can't be ignored and underestimated.

Even though the market squeezed by the current Internet has shrunk, advertising revenue has plummeted, and it is difficult to survive, it has to be admitted that in the face of various Internet news, it is difficult to distinguish the true and false Internet, the credibility and influence of these brand newspapers is still The public chooses to identify the truth.

The advantages of the Internet are unquestionable. It has a fast transmission speed, rich information, and most importantly free. This is undoubtedly unmatched by traditional paper media, but it also floods the network with a variety of information, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false. This is also the biggest problem flaw of the Internet.

Al is also aware of the reforms being carried out by his boss and several newspapers among his opponents. The newspapers and periodicals issued do not compete with the Internet to steal the update speed of the news, but rather a deeper interpretation of the news, helping the people to understand the real events, and It's not the same as the Internet, just a few lines of words explain an item of news, the speed is very fast, but it also makes people who read the news unknown.

Judging from the current operating conditions of several newspapers, the reform is very successful. Even if it is a loss, it is only a loss of several million dollars. For Andy, he can still accept such small money. After all, the current economy In the environment, it is difficult to not lose money.

This is why Andy dared to buy those high-quality brands of newspapers and magazines even when the traditional newspaper industry was in a slump, and instead of buying newspapers, it was better to say that Andy bought the share that people instinctively believed Credibility and influence.

Forum company was acquired by US real estate tycoon Samuel Zell in 2007 with a high leveraged financial operation and employee stock option plan, with a total amount of US $ 8.3 billion, a standard empty glove white wolf acquisition game. Of the borrowings were passed on to the forum company, and now the debt has exceeded $ 12 billion.

Ratings agency Standard & Poor's last month downgraded the forum company's debt rating to junk, saying that the financial crisis would prevent the group from selling assets and limit the amount of funds it can raise.

Chicago-based forum company has been in existence for 161 years and is the newspaper group with the second largest annual revenue and the third largest total circulation in the United States. The Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune ranked fourth and eighth in sales in the United States.

Andy has been keeping an eye on the main purpose of the forum companies, which is to see the Los Angeles Times in their hands. To become another Wasserman in Hollywood, the most influential newspaper in California is absolutely necessary. of.

"The Los Angeles Times has been suffering from instability in the past year. 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 ads Both earnings and sales have fallen sharply.

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

"Huh?" Andy frowned, looking at Al inconceivably and asking, "Why is the funding range so large?"

"Located in a prime 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 acquisition funding range. In my brief, I proposed that my boss consider the Miami Herald. That is, this newspaper also has a headquarters building located in a prime location in Biscayne Bay.

As long as the Miami Herald of 220 million US dollars, if real estate picks up in the future, this building alone can offset most of the acquisition funds spent. "

After hearing Al ’s analysis, Andy was also quite sighed. I have to say that this is a very sad thing. The performance of the newspaper industry is bleak. Their physical office buildings are likely to be more valuable than the newspaper itself. Much higher. And if the building happens to be located in a high-level middle-class community, its value can double.

The Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald no doubt have a very valuable headquarters building, and now the United States is in a period of real estate bubble burst, the valuation of these buildings has been completely suppressed to the lowest.

Andy felt his chin and got lost in thought. The Miami Herald, founded in 1903, is the second largest newspaper in South Florida. In addition to Florida, it is also distributed to the entire Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than 800 employees. .

Its brand value is beyond doubt. To be honest, for the price of more than 200 million US dollars, Andy really does not pay much attention to him. For him now, these are small money, just like holding hundreds of dollars. Huge money people go into the '2 yuan shop' to buy things, and they never care about spending 2 yuan.

Not to mention the excellent value for money. Since Al believes that the value of their headquarters building is high, there must be a lot of money to make. Andy absolutely believes that Al's chief think tank judges it.

"That's it. Send someone to contact the McLutch Newspaper Group. I will fly to Miami before November 6 and complete the transaction. By the way, I will send someone to contact the forum company and tell them that I am The Los Angeles Times is very interested. As a Los Angeles native, I know very well that Californians want this newspaper to return to the hands of the locals ... "

Al face is expressionless, but the corners of his mouth are still unnatural. There are really strange reasons for his boss. Boss, you seem to be a New Yorker, right? Are you Los Angeles people living in Los Angeles?

"Okay, boss, I will immediately arrange for someone to contact each other. The Herald is not a big problem. The McClatchy Group is really trying to sell and is eager to withdraw funds to get out of debt. Although Samuel Zell has messed up, after all, he just bought the forum company, and may not easily give up. "

"Then let go of the news of my intention to acquire the Los Angeles Times, and let his creditors force him to make a choice. I'd like to see a clear opportunity to pay the money, but think about applying for bankruptcy protection, such as Barclays, These creditors of mg chase will kindly wait for years to help him get out of bankruptcy! "

Andy said very calmly about the possible troubles. For the forum company that owed a pigu debt, there is no need to rush to seek to be slaughtered, but to apply for bankruptcy. The banks of Samuel now have a chance to get the first interest of the forum company, they will definitely not make Samuel better.

"I see, boss." Al nodded. "Boss, when will the Starbucks acquisition plan start?"

"When I'm done with the French side, you can start here. Just leave GE to air first, don't they always think that they're ready for me? Ha ha, I'm shifting the acquisition target and take a look at them Anxious! "Andy sneered.

Al, who got a clear answer, nodded. He still admired some of his big boss's decisions, was patient and decisive, and would not be blinded by his temporary gains and losses. The appearance of young people is undoubtedly very surprising, mature beyond age.

Andy doesn't know how his most valued men think of him. The only thing he needs to do next is to spend all the money in his hand before the financial turmoil ends. Quality assets!