After divorce, I can hear the voice of the future

Chapter 782 Acquiring Fuji TV and Controlling the Media
"Where is the acquisition of Murakami Bank progressing?"

Upon hearing Lu Liang's question, Ishikawa Masaya frowned and whispered, "Although Murakami Bank is insolvent, it has been holding firm on the price of $400 million since it learned that the buyer is us. It will be difficult for the project to move forward."

Lu Liang sneered, "They're obviously trying to raise the price on the spot. Then they might as well just give up on the acquisition of Murakami Bank."

He had previously read Murakami Bank's research report, and Murakami's size was only slightly larger than that of Delime.

The price shouldn't exceed $250 million, but they're asking for $400 million now, which clearly shows they're taking advantage of their abundant funds and trying to rip them off.

Ishikawa Maya was taken aback, and then said, "Chairman, if we give up on the acquisition of Murakami now, the research fees we invested in before will probably be wasted."

Once a project is initiated, sunk costs will continue to accumulate when acquiring a company.

Just like the acquisition of Fuji TV, we conducted our own research and hired third-party researchers, investing at least tens of millions of dollars in the early stages.

Lu Liang smiled calmly and said, "We are acting as saviors to save his company; it's their mistake that they didn't seize the opportunity."

“The buyer is Party A, and Party A has absolute say. There’s no need to waste time on Murakami Bank.”

"Let's look for other banks."

The trade war between the two superpowers is raging, and the people of both countries are suffering the most, as are Japan and Korea, which are caught in the middle.

Korea has no backbone at all. Despite being abused by the Americans a thousand times, Korea still treats the Americans like its first love.

In contrast, although Japan's backbone has also been broken, the nation's ambition has never disappeared, so it will only suffer more under this international situation.

Since being shorted by Lu Liang, the US dollar-Japanese yen exchange rate had been stable for two years. However, with the escalation of the trade war, Dongda New Energy has accelerated its penetration into the traditional fuel vehicle market, causing the profits of Japanese and Korean cars in China to decrease year by year, almost halved.

Even Anyama's economics is no longer effective; with the combined effect of multiple factors, the USD/JPY exchange rate is about to spiral out of control again.

On November 5, the yen fell below 120...

On November 22, the yen fell below 130...

A new round of sharp depreciation of the yen is imminent.

It's easier to conquer Chang'an than to pass the imperial examinations to enter Chang'an.

This statement also applies to them. If they refuse to cooperate when it comes to discussing cooperation, then they do know a thing or two about fighting.

The reason why Ishikawa Maya was still asked to look for banks and prepare to launch another acquisition was just to hide the smoke of the scythe.

Lu Liang is very shrewd; he knows that his own thoughts (his wolfish ambitions) are already common knowledge.

To conquer Japan, you'll need to use some strategies.

Towards the end of the conversation, Lu Liang casually remarked, "I've heard that in the project to acquire Fuji TV, there are several young people who are quite hardworking and capable. They are the company's reserve talents. The company is developing rapidly and urgently needs a continuous stream of fresh talent."

Ishikawa Masa's expression hardened, and he quickly said, "There are a few newcomers who are indeed very capable. I plan to have them join the research team of the M&A department so that they can grow up as quickly as possible."

He recalled some rumors circulating within the company about Yuya Sato accepting bribes.

Because the incident was discovered very promptly, it did not cause any actual loss to the company.

Normally, companies would be lenient with those involved in a case, at least not with the maximum sentence of more than three years of criminal detention.

Because of this doubt, rumors gradually spread that Sato Yuya had offended someone he shouldn't have.

Ishikawa Masaya used his vice president authority to conduct a brief investigation and actually found some clues.

The acquisition team later consisted of four people: Yuya Sato, two senior legal professionals, and an intern.

The fact that an intern was involved in such a major project is suspicious in itself, especially since her former department head happened to be Yuya Sato.

Yuya Sato has a quirky habit; I've heard he has ambiguous relationships with some of the female interns in the department.

He had seen Sakurada Miyuki's file and met her in person; her appearance was clearly superior to that of the other interns.

No sooner had Yuya Sato been investigated than Miyuki Sakurada was transferred to the acquisition team and given important responsibilities.

As a result, rumors circulated within the company that Sakurada Miyuki was Wen Chao's kept mistress, and it now appears that the president was taking the blame for the chairman.

Lu Liang smiled approvingly, waved his hand and said, "It's nothing, you can go out now."

"Hi~"

Sakurada Miyuki was eavesdropping by the wall. When she heard that there was no more noise outside, she quietly opened a crack in the door, revealing a round, almond-shaped eye.

The eyes are short and round, with short and deep eyelid lines and upturned corners, maintaining depth while also conveying a girlish charm.

"Nani?"

She muttered to herself, the office was empty, Ishikawa Maya was nowhere to be seen, and even Lu Liang was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, a long, slender index finger appeared in front of her. Before she could react, the finger slipped through the crack in the door and struck her hard on the forehead.

"Yamete~"

Sakurada Miyuki looked aggrieved, covering her forehead, when she saw Lu Liang leaning against the doorframe, smiling at her. "Don't be so lewd, okay? You already look like a doormat." Lu Liang patted Miyuki's head.

Miyuki's eyes were full of resentment. She stomped her feet in anger, her cheeks swollen like a hamster's, and she shouted in a delicate voice, "Sir!"

"It's time to get off work." Lu Liang smiled and glanced at the time. Mei Xue's face suddenly brightened, and she beamed with joy.

She said excitedly, "Sir, I'm going to buy some ingredients. I can cook now, and my mom always praises me for my cooking."

Although her mother had returned to her hometown in the countryside, she taught her to cook a new dish every day for the month before she left.

This includes, but is not limited to, Japanese curry rice, miso soup, braised pork with ginger, Cantonese spare ribs with black bean sauce, and fish head casserole.

Lu Liang's evaluation was her final test, a day she had been looking forward to for a long time.

"I have an appointment to meet with Ota Rei later, so I probably won't be back until later."

Lu Liang's words were like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing Sakurada Miyuki's burning passion for cooking.

Lu Liang paused for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "But I'll try to get back on an empty stomach as soon as possible. I look forward to your cooking."

"Hehe~~ No problem, leave it to me. Sir, you can just sit there on an empty stomach and wait for the big meal."

Meixue smiled, her eyes crinkling. In front of Lu Liang, she was like a little child, easily pleased with just a little coaxing.

Lu Liang couldn't help but chuckle and said, "Did you hear my conversation with Ishikawa just now?"

Miyuki nodded, then suddenly found it difficult to speak: "Sir, you really don't need to do this."

Even she could understand the implication in Lu Liang's words, let alone Ishikawa Maya.

As expected, her position and salary will be raised again after she was just promoted to a permanent position.

Lu Liang smiled calmly: "Don't feel embarrassed, the resources you bring are also part of your strength."

"The reason I sent you to work at the grassroots level was simply to familiarize you with some unspoken rules and the darker side of human nature."

"Now that I have a basic understanding, I need to grow up as quickly as possible. I hope you can help me in the future."

Lu Liang plans to develop Sakurada Miyuki into the most powerful female CEO in Tokyo's business circle and even the East Asian market.

But simply piling up resources is far from enough; she herself also needs to put in hundreds or thousands of times more effort.

"Sir, what you're saying puts a lot of pressure on me." Miyuki said, her head drooping and her face full of bitterness.

Lu Liang smiled and said, "Pressure is a good thing, don't be afraid. The key is whether you have confidence."

Miyuki put away her playful mood, her pretty face tense, her eyes serious: "Yes! I won't let you down."

"I believe you can do it well."

Lu Liang stroked Meixue's head, offering appropriate encouragement. She squinted her eyes and gave a silly smile.

In the evening, the two left the company one after the other.

Miyuki took the subway back to her Roppongi apartment to prepare for her late-night snack.

Lu Liang also came downstairs and took the car sent by Ota Rei to Setagaya Ward, a place where the wealthy gather.

At the same time, news of Starway's successful acquisition of Fuji TV, one of Japan's six major TV stations, also began to circulate online.

"A television station? Isn't that an even more sunset industry?"

"Could it be that Ryoko acquired Fuji TV in order to enter the action film market?"

"You've narrowed your perspective. Do you know why radio stations are controlled during wartime? They're a weapon of public opinion."

"I never expected that Fuji TV, one of Japan's six major TV stations, would be acquired by a foreign company."

"Fun fact: Xingheng is not a foreign-invested enterprise in Japan. Its main shareholder is Sumitomo Mitsui, followed by Tianxing and Hyundai."

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

In the eyes of professionals, this is the most important part of Lu Liang's financial empire.

Television may be a sunset industry, but it is also a legitimate and fully-equipped mouthpiece for public opinion and an important channel for disseminating information.

The University of Tokyo has suffered too many losses in terms of public opinion, to the point that some people in Europe and America still think that they still have pig braids.

While it is also related to the group of domestic directors who like to make films about suffering and hardship, the root cause is ultimately the lack of public opinion control.

Lu Liang was clearly aware of Tokyo University's lack of influence in public opinion, which is why he acquired Fuji TV, one of Japan's six major broadcasting stations.

Although Fuji TV was on the verge of bankruptcy, which shows that it didn't have much influence over public opinion, it was still a first step.

(End of this chapter)