Huayu: Director started with art films

"Something unexpected happened to Ming Pao Group! Yu Pinhai sold all his shares, and Li Yishu became the new boss of Ming Pao!" - Oriental Daily

“What kind of changes will Ming Pao’s second change of ownership bring to it?” — Sing Tao Daily

"From ATV to Ming Pao, the road to the media empire of great director Li Yishu!" - Tiantian Daily

"Is it a deal or a conspiracy? The Ming Pao Group suddenly changed its owner, and the equity of Asia Television changed. Is there a mainland figure behind this?" - The Sun

"..."

The news of the change of chairman of Ming Pao Group was spread by various media the next day, causing a sensation in Hong Kong.

Previously, when Li Yishu acquired Asia Television, many people exclaimed that mainlanders were beginning to dominate their TV programs. This time, she acquired Ming Pao, which they have been reading for decades. Will she continue to acquire more industries that they are familiar with in the future?
Many people are discussing whether there is official involvement of the mainland behind this incident.

However, Jin Yong took the initiative to reveal in front of reporters that he could not bear to see Ming Pao Group become a tool for others to make money, so he took the initiative to help Li Yishu acquire Ming Pao Group.

A tool for making money?

Everyone was confused at first, but later, attentive reporters conducted in-depth investigations and soon discovered clues.

Yu Pinhai, the former chairman of Ming Pao Group, borrowed a huge amount of money from the bank, which he transferred back to Canada. He also participated in casino investment and construction in Canada.

The media continued to dig and soon discovered some of the things that Yu Pinhai had done while studying in Canada, and made them public!
Stealing bank cards, making fake checks, and possessing guns...

Who would have thought that the change of ownership of Ming Pao Group would involve so many exciting melons!

You have to know that everyone was very puzzled by Jin Yong's choice of Yu Pinhai to take over Ming Pao Group. According to everyone's opinion, Yu Pinhai neither paid as much as others nor had much obvious newspaper management experience. How could he be qualified to take over Ming Pao Group?
Now that Yu Pinhai’s affair has been exposed, it has caused a huge sensation.

Some tabloids also began to make up various stories in order to increase sales, such as that Li Yishu impressed Jin Yong with her talent, thereby gaining Jin Yong's support and helping him acquire the Ming Pao Group.

Some people also said that Li Yishu got the evidence of Yu Pinhai's misappropriation of loans in advance and forced Jin Yong to agree, otherwise she would make it public.

Anyway, all kinds of news are flying around in the newspapers.

The Hong Kong citizens were dazzled and stunned.

The public opinion in Hong Kong soon spread to the mainland.

Cities in coastal areas were the first to react, and their headlines were more exciting than each other.

Even the popularity of the popular "Miss Asia Beauty Pageant" was affected by the change of ownership of the Ming Pao Group.

Hengdian.

The crew of "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms".

Han Sanping read the news in the newspaper about Li Yishu's acquisition of Ming Pao Group and becoming the chairman of the board of directors of Ming Pao, and he kept clicking his tongue.

"Yishu really doesn't reveal anything. I thought he asked for leave this time to go to Europe to attend the film festival, but I didn't expect that he went to Hong Kong to acquire Ming Pao. It's only been a few days? He bought Ming Pao in three days? A transaction worth more than 10 billion Hong Kong dollars!"

Director Xie Jin beside him laughed and said, "I don't understand business matters, but it shouldn't be that fast. I think the director's company must have completed the acquisition in advance, and he just went there to sign."

"I finally understand. He really isn't worried about our movie doing badly at the box office."

Han Sanping looked at the astonishing figure of 12 billion and couldn't help but sigh: "It cost 12 billion Hong Kong dollars to acquire Ming Pao, and that doesn't even include the money spent on acquiring Asia Television. I'm really curious about how much money he has now?"

“I don’t know how much money he has, but he’s definitely richer than us.”

Xie Jin smiled and said, "I've heard that Director Li's American film company has made very successful films in recent years."

Hearing this, Han Sanping's eyes rolled and he said to himself, "It seems that I have to discuss it with Yishu in the future to see if there is a chance to co-produce two films with Hollywood."

Hearing this, Xie Jin smiled but said nothing. He is already old, and after filming "Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms", this may be his last big production.

It’s not that I don’t want to continue shooting, but I just don’t have the energy to keep up.

The investment in Red Cliff of the Three Kingdoms was too huge, and the pressure was not only concentrated on Li Yishu, but also on the directors who participated in the directing.

Dressing room.

Chen Hong and Zhao Mingming, who came to guest star as Da Qiao and Xiao Qiao, were chatting and laughing while having their makeup done by the makeup artist.

The two of them haven't seen each other for a long time.

"Legend of the Han Palace" was successfully broadcast at the end of last year. With their exquisite looks and the same oval faces, many people thought they were a pair of real sisters.

Zhao Xuan, who is in charge of the artist department of Yanjing Art and Entertainment Company, also contacted many newspapers and officially launched the gimmick of "Chen in the South and Zhao in the North".

Not only did their fame soar in a short period of time, but they also had a lot more commercial activities.

However, considering that the public security in some areas of this era is very unstable, the company has always been very strict about commercial performances and does not allow artists to accept activities privately to avoid some uncontrollable situations.

So the two of them sang the theme song of "Legend of the Han Palace" together at the opening of several shopping malls or department stores in Yanjing at the end of last year. After that, they each filmed their own movies and almost never met each other again.

"Sister Hong!" Chen Hong's assistant Zhang Yuanyuan excitedly ran into the dressing room holding a newspaper.

"What's wrong?" Chen Hong looked back and saw Zhang Yuanyuan's face full of excitement. She couldn't help but ask, "What's so exciting?"

Zhang Yuanyuan said: "It's Director Li. Director Li is on the news again."

"Isn't it normal for Director Li to be on the news?"

Chen Hong curled her lips. It was common for director Li Yishu to be on the news. But she still asked, "What was it about? Which European film festival?"

Before coming to guest-star as Xiao Qiao, Chen Hong called Li Yishu and said that she would go there as soon as possible, but she was greatly disappointed because the man had to go to Hong Kong for a few days.

Zhang Yuanyuan quickly said, "No, it was Director Li who bought Ming Pao!"

"Ming Pao?" Chen Hong felt that it sounded familiar. After thinking carefully, she was surprised and said, "Is it the Ming Pao in Hong Kong?"

Zhang Yuanyuan nodded repeatedly: "Yes! It's the Ming Pao Group in Hong Kong."

"Quick, show it to me!"

Chen Hong was extremely excited. She had filmed movies in Hong Kong and Taiwan before, so she had naturally heard of the name of Ming Pao a long time ago. However, she had been back to the mainland to film movies for more than two years and had hardly come into contact with Hong Kong and Taiwan newspapers, so she didn't think of it for a while.

"Honghong, what is Ming Pao?"

Looking at the two excited people, Zhao Mingming was confused. She was from the north and had been filming in mainland China. She had never been exposed to the situation in Hong Kong and Taiwan, so naturally she found Ming Pao difficult to understand.

"It's just a newspaper."

"Newspapers? Director Li also bought Hong Kong newspapers?"

"Yes!"

Chen Hong looked at the contents of the newspaper and felt like her heart was about to jump out.

When she first came into contact with Lee Yi-su, it was because of her status in the film industry.

As Li Yishu became more and more famous, her company also developed rapidly. Now, she not only acquired Asia Television, but also bought Ming Pao. The newspapers were saying that Li Yishu was going to establish a media empire covering movies, television, newspapers, distribution...

This undoubtedly made Chen Hong, who was extremely ambitious, feel a little more eager.

Up to now, Li Yishu has not given her a clear affirmative answer. Maybe she should be more proactive, like getting pregnant or something?

When she thought of this, Chen Hong's breathing quickened. However, she became a little hesitant when she thought that pregnancy might deal a blow to her career that had worked so hard to build.

Chen Hong's personality is a bit vain, and when she was with Li Yishu, she valued her ability. Now Li Yishu has not only leapt from a big director to a rich man, but is also about to become a figure comparable to Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers, so how can Chen Hong not have evil thoughts?

Thinking of his insignificant career and Li Yishu's billions of assets,
Chen Hong gritted her teeth and decided to fight!
This time when Li Yishu comes back, he must not be allowed to wear any protective measures.

Li Jiaxin had the same idea as Chen Hong. She decided to let Li Yishu fill her up.

Ever since she learned that Pioneer Electric Company was invested by Li Yishu and cashed out hundreds of millions of Hong Kong dollars through the Hong Kong real estate market, this girl has had ulterior motives towards Li Yishu.

Nowadays, with VCDs and discs becoming more and more popular in Hong Kong, and Li Yishu successively acquiring Asia Television and Ming Pao Group, a large number of newspapers have evaluated Li Yishu's assets, and the conservative estimate is around 50 billion Hong Kong dollars.

This only covers Li Yishu's obvious entertainment industry, but Li Jiaxin knows that Li Yishu also has other industries, such as Pioneer VCD, which is very popular in Hong Kong.

"call!"

Li Yishu let out a long breath, looked at the limp Li Jiaxin, and said with a smile: "Why are you so enthusiastic today?"

Li Jiaxin looked at him charmingly: "It's just that Director Li launched a big satellite!"

Hearing this, Li Yishu smiled. He had not expected that the acquisition of Ming Pao would be so smooth.

Li Jiaxin rested for a while in a lying position, then hugged Li Yishu's arm and asked, "Director Li, do you really have so much wealth now?"

Li Yishu raised an eyebrow: "Why do you care about this?"

He had read today's newspapers and originally thought that the media would only react after the Ming Pao announcement, but he overestimated the confidentiality of the Securities and Futures Commission and the bank. The day after the signing of the contract, all media in Hong Kong were reporting related news.

Some people even directly targeted his current wealth.

Hong Kong people like to calculate how much money the rich have. Li Yishu acquired Asia Television and Ming Pao, and the sums he made were tens or even hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars.

The reporters naturally knew what everyone wanted to see, so many newspapers seriously analyzed Li Yishu's wealth.

Starting from Li Yishu's quotation of director's salary, a fixed salary of 1000 million US dollars, 5-10% box office share, including previous films, films invested by Art Entertainment Group, and Golden Lion Films...

Analyzing Li Yishu's assets, it is about 5 million US dollars, which is still a conservative estimate.

"Oh, Director Li, I'm just curious." Li Jiaxin started to act coquettishly.

I have to say that Li Jiaxin is still beautiful. She has a cold appearance but she acts like a spoiled child, which makes Li Yishu, who has just been released, want her again.

He paused and said, "I really don't know how much money I have, but it should be about the same."

In fact, Li Yishu really has no idea how much money he has, because money is a concept. If real estate, company value, investment stocks, etc. are included, the cash he has available on hand, converted into US dollars, is about 7 million US dollars.

Based on the exchange rate of 1:8, it is approximately HK$56 billion.

The bulk of the money was earned in the United States.

A series of low-cost horror films such as "Final Destination", "Scream" and "Wrong Turn", not only sold well at the box office, but also brought huge cash flow to Li Yishu from the subsequent revenue from peripheral videotapes and VCDs.

The rest are the copyrights of the art films he directed previously sold internationally.

The value of a director who has won three major European Film Festival awards is still very high. Even if the copyright prices sold in many countries are not high, the accumulation of small amounts has brought him considerable profits.

This does not include his investments in Yahoo and Pioneer Appliances.

After getting Li Yishu's affirmative answer, Li Jiaxin couldn't help swallowing her saliva. Looking at Li Yishu's face, it was as if she was looking at shiny banknotes. She could no longer control her thoughts and lowered her head.

Li Yishu was still thinking about how much money she had when she suddenly felt like she had entered a warm world.

He looked down, smiled, and leaned against the head of the bed to enjoy the Hong Kong style service of Miss Hong Kong.

It is night on this side of Hong Kong, but it is morning in the United States across the ocean.

Los Angeles.

At Arts Entertainment Group, Amy is in a meeting to discuss the reorganization plan.

She received the news last night that Li Yishu had acquired Ming Pao, and also learned that Li Yishu intended to start the group's restructuring before the second half of this year and conduct the first round of financing early next year.

Amy was very excited at the thought of going public. She had worked so hard for so many years just for the group to go public so that she could be allocated some options.

Amy naturally fully supports the group's restructuring to cope with financing and listing. Early this morning, she began a detailed investigation of the industries under the name of the Art and Entertainment Group.

On the other side, in the office of producer Monica Bellucci, she was receiving Michael Moritz, a manager from Sequoia Capital.

Monica was originally wondering why the other party was looking for her, but when she learned that he came for Yahoo, she immediately understood.

A few months ago, Yahoo successfully completed its second round of financing of US$1 million, which also made Yahoo stand out among a number of North American Internet companies.

Its development momentum is much stronger than the original time and space, and it covers almost 70% of Internet users in North America.

This also reduced Li Yishu's 40% stake to 35%.

It’s not that he can’t afford the financing, but in order for Yahoo to have a better listing in the future, he has to give up his shares.

Michael Moritz said: "Ms. Bellucci, this time I came here in the hope of starting the third round of financing, and then issuing and listing it next year!"

"More financing?" Monica frowned. "It seems like Yahoo is not short of money now, right?"

These days, it is not so easy to spend money on the Internet. Apart from purchasing more servers and hiring more technicians, there is almost no additional money to spend.

After all, there are only 2500 million Internet users in North America.

“Yes, Yahoo is not short of money, but we all agree that we should speed up our pace and occupy more market share!”

Michael Moritz said this, but he was actually after the shares in Li Yishu's hands.

Sequoia Capital only has a 10% stake, which is really too little.

Yahoo now has the qualities of an Internet unicorn. After internal discussions, Sequoia felt that it could hold more shares, and for this reason it continued with the next round of financing within less than a few months.

Monica did not directly agree to Michael Moritz's proposal for financing, but said she would consider it.

After the other party left, Monica contacted Li Yishu in the evening and explained that Yahoo was going to raise funds again.

Li Yishu agreed to continue financing without a second thought. The 35% stake he now holds is a bit conspicuous.

If we continue to raise funds, it will be enough to reduce it to 25%.

When it goes public, I will probably have to invest a portion of my shares in the stock market together with other shareholders, leaving about 20%.

The fewer shares Li Yishu holds, the easier it will be for her to sell them in the future.

And only by giving up shares can those big investors make great efforts to raise Yahoo's stock price.

Li Yishu has no idea how the Internet bubble came about.

But he is sure that big capitalists must have been involved, and with the help of the Internet wave of the millennium, they created one Internet myth after another!

At its peak after its IPO, Yahoo’s market value was $20 billion, so 200% would be $ billion. However, Li Yishu certainly would not cash out at its peak in the millennium, but would gradually reduce her holdings over the next two years.

Invest the money in his own media empire, and then invest in Google and a number of domestic Internet giants. (End of this chapter)