Reborn since 1993

Chapter 1432 Getting to the Root
"Congratulations, President Andrew! Reynolds made the right choice. History will remember this day!"

"The global tobacco industry has also entered a new era today!"

Over the phone, Li Dongling told Andrew that he welcomed Reynolds Tobacco Company to abandon its evil ways and embrace the light.

Once the Reynolds board of directors agrees to switch to the Ruyan e-cigarette lineup, everything else is no longer a problem.

Reynolds invested $1 billion in Ruyan e-cigarettes in exchange for a 10% stake, through a combination of stock and cash, which is equivalent to Reynolds acknowledging Ruyan e-cigarettes' valuation of tens of billions of dollars.

When even Reynolds, a traditional tobacco giant and supposedly Ruyan's arch-rival, agrees with the valuation of Ruyan e-cigarettes, what else can anyone else say?
After hanging up the phone, Li Dongling looked at Lin Xianhui, who was looking at him, and said, "Reynolds agreed!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Xianhui couldn't help but swing his fist.

It's important to know that Reynolds Tobacco's switch to Ruyan e-cigarettes has benefited not only Ruyan e-cigarettes, but also Cyberport, which is one of the biggest beneficiaries!

Cyberport's Port City Future Industry Foundation has also invested in Ruyan e-cigarettes.

In addition, the listing of Ruyan e-cigarettes will also significantly boost the stock price of Cyberport, just like 3721.

"At Cyberport, we need to prepare for promotion!"

Li Dongling said to Lin Xianhui, which, in other words, meant to inflate Cyberport's stock price and keep it popular.

Next, Cyberport's subsidiaries, including Harbour City Telecom, Peregrine Bank, Peregrine Insurance, and Peregrine Securities, will all be buying stocks to exchange for Hong Kong dollars and US dollars, and the share price must be maintained.

Only if Cyberport's share price continues to rise will the companies acquired by City Telecom agree to trade using Cyberport shares.

Once the stock price falls, everything is over. Which founder would be willing to have their company, which they built from scratch, bought with a bunch of worthless paper and code?

What if Cyberport's stock price falls after the acquisition?
What else can we do but let it be? This is a case of mutual consent, like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai – both sides willingly agreeing and going their separate ways.

Cyberport is looking to acquire Southeast Asian telecommunications companies. Those telecommunications companies are hoping to get Cyberport's shares and make more money when the share price appreciates.

But before you can make money from this, you need to be prepared for the stock price to fall.

They can't sing praises to Cyberport when its stock price is rising, only to vehemently criticize it when it falls. What happened to the promise of weathering the storm together? Do they have no gratitude or humanity left?

"I know what to do!"

Lin Xianhui nodded. He wasn't a top-tier professional manager, but he was quite reliable in his work.

Next, Cyberport will enter "winner's mode," moving from one victory to another. Basically, it will work with securities companies and the media to vigorously promote Cyberport!
"And one more thing!"

Seeing Lin Xianhui preparing to get up, Li Dongling spoke to him.

"You should have heard, Mr. Shao is preparing to sell TVB!"

Lin Xianhui slowly sat back down, his mind racing. It was no secret in Hong Kong that TVB was going to be sold; many people had heard about it.

But when Li Dongling said it, the meaning was completely different.

"As the largest television station in Hong Kong, TVB is also a memory for countless people in Hong Kong. Cyberport has an obligation to keep TVB in Hong Kong!"

Li Dongling put it very bluntly: he wanted to include Cyberport in TVB's acquisition process, or rather, to use Cyberport as a shell to complete the acquisition.

Hearing Li Dongling's words, Lin Xianhui suppressed the shock in his heart. If he could also bring TVB under his control, Cyberport's strength would completely surpass the other major companies in Hong Kong, and Lin Xianhui himself would become the most powerful professional manager in Hong Kong!
“Cyberport certainly has an obligation to keep TVB in Hong Kong!” Lam Yin-fai immediately added.

Li Dongling nodded. "I hope that Cyberport can form a joint acquisition consortium with Oriental Media and Focus Media to acquire TVB."

When Lin Xianhui heard Li Dongling's arrangement, he understood. By bringing in Oriental Media and Focus Media, it was equivalent to bringing in mainland television stations and media. In the future, the mainland media market would be open to TVB.

Oriental Media was jointly established by Dongling High-Tech, Pingyang TV Station, Hanxi Provincial TV Station, and China Media Group. Although Dongling High-Tech and Pingyang TV Station held the majority of the shares in Oriental Media, they also brought in Hanxi Provincial TV Station and China Media Group for endorsement.

Behind China Media Group is a state-owned media group. If Oriental Media joins the consortium that is acquiring TVB, TVB has a high chance of gaining access to mainland media resources after the acquisition is completed.

It would be a natural progression for TVB's dramas, variety shows, and other programs to be allowed to be introduced to the mainland market by Oriental Media Group without any restrictions, and for the two sides to jointly produce dramas, variety shows, documentaries, and so on!
For a long time, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and overseas television and media outlets have longed to enter the mainland market, but it has been an unattainable dream. Now, the opportunity has presented itself to TVB, but the prerequisite is that they have to sell themselves!

Cyberport will make a good acquisition plan and will never let TVB be taken over by others!

Lin Xianhui spoke with great confidence, and he had the confidence to say this.

When Cyberport was created to acquire Hong Kong Telecom, it required real money. Now, however, Cyberport can acquire TVB without needing as much cash!
Or, to put it another way, even if Mr. Shao needs cash, Hong Kong City Telecom can easily raise it by issuing new shares and bonds. Therefore, Cyberport can afford to wait this time. Regardless of who the opponent is, Cyberport has the financial strength, because Cyberport's stock is currently very valuable.
When stocks can be used like cash, theoretically, Cyberport has an unlimited supply of funds. As long as there are buyers for the newly issued shares, Cyberport can keep issuing new shares...

Of course, this kind of strategy only works during a stock market frenzy, like the current internet boom, during which Cyberport's stock price is also rising.

If it were a bear market, Cyberport would have been forced to sell all its Cyberport shares long ago by countless investors who dared to play this game.

……

Jeffrey Bibby, who had been in a good mood all this time, drove to Morris Tobacco Company.

When he arrived at the Morris Tobacco Company building, Byber stopped and looked up at the Morris company's name. As the president of Morris Tobacco Company, Byber knew that it wouldn't be long before the name above his head would be changed to Altria Company.

That would mean a new beginning for Maurice, and his dark past would be completely buried in history.

The entire American tobacco industry, though in dire straits, is suffering terribly as it struggles to pay the $2060 billion in damages.

But for Biber, this is the best time ever, as the dark cloud that had hung over Morris Tobacco Company for so long has completely dissipated.

In the past, Biber had always worried about how the American Department of Health and the federal states would deal with Morris Company. But now, it's all over. As long as the compensation is paid, everything is settled. Executives like Biber no longer need to worry about being suddenly put on trial.

Furthermore, the $2060 billion fine is borne by all tobacco companies, not just Morris.

This has led to the collapse of many small and medium-sized tobacco companies because they could not afford the compensation payments. This is something that Morris has wanted to do for many years but has not been able to do, but now it has been achieved unexpectedly.

The more tobacco companies that die, the more the gaps left by other tobacco brands will be filled by Maurice, and the better Maurice's Marlboro will sell. So why is Baiber in such a hurry?
Upon arriving at the office, after having a cup of coffee, Byber pressed a button on his desk. A tall, blonde woman with blue eyes walked in, carrying a stack of documents that Byber needed to process. This was Byber's personal secretary.

As the female secretary turned around, she saw Byber looking at her buttocks in her black leather miniskirt, and the female secretary gave Byber a flirtatious wink.

Now, Biber is at the height of his power in Morris, having resolved lawsuits for the company and caused its market value and revenue to soar, naturally increasing his influence.

The female secretary naturally didn't mind having deeper exchanges with Byber, hoping to give Byber and herself a better future in Morris.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming ambiguous, the office door was pushed open, and Baiber waved for his secretary to leave first.

Then, Biber smiled and said to the man who came in, "Mokesler, barging in without knocking is not gentlemanly behavior!"

Tell me, what good news is there today?

The man who came in was Baiber's confidant, the vice president of Morris Tobacco, in charge of finance and planning. During this period, he was responsible for helping Baiber acquire those small and medium-sized tobacco companies.

"problem occurs!"

Moxler's voice was urgent; at this moment, he had no time to chat with Byber about anything else.

Seeing Moxler's expression, Byber was not in a hurry. He showed the demeanor of a general. For the man who had just resolved class-action lawsuits in dozens of states and saved the American tobacco industry, Byber did not know what else could be considered a big deal.

"What is it?" Byber picked up his coffee, took a sip, and asked slowly.

"I heard that Reynolds Tobacco Company has partnered with Ruyan e-cigarettes to start developing e-cigarettes!"

"what?"

Baiber paused for a moment before realizing what was happening, then lost all composure and slammed his coffee down on the table.

"Has Reynolds gone mad? Does it even know what it's doing?"

Biber said somewhat angrily, "This is tantamount to Reynolds suddenly betraying the traditional tobacco industry."

Reynolds' betrayal has put Morris on the defensive, making it unlikely that he can continue to try to eliminate Ruyan.

Biber knew very well that Reynolds' defection could potentially change the entire tobacco landscape in America.

"Is the news confirmed?"

Byber's expression was very uncertain. He felt that Morris was probably really in trouble this time, and unlike the class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry, this time it might be uprooting the traditional tobacco industry!

"The news comes from Wall Street institutions: Reynolds' opening price has already surged by 14%!"

(End of this chapter)