American Scandal King

Chapter 74 A Fair Bet

Acton Manor, a luxurious villa on the outskirts of Los Angeles.

In the luxurious living room of the manor.

Dill Chandler sat on the sofa by the fireplace.

This is a middle-aged man with a fairly handsome appearance. He is neat and tidy and very graceful.

At this moment, his face was gloomy. "I will not agree to this bet. The Los Angeles Times is our foundation. No matter how strong the temptation is, we cannot put our foundation on the line."

"Dill, you're too timid. That's why you can't make The Times bigger. Father shouldn't have given The Times to you!"

Leaning on the living room bar, Dandy Acton drank white wine and smoked a cigar with disdain.

The founder of the Los Angeles Times is Georgie Acton, also known as Acton Sr., who has two sons and a daughter. The eldest son is Dandy Acton, the younger son is Alec Acton, and the daughter is Isidora Acton.

They are all useless.

Dill Chandler was Acton Sr.'s son-in-law. He defeated his two brothers-in-law, took control of the Times, and developed the Times into one of the most powerful newspapers in the United States today.

How dare you say that I didn’t make the Times stronger?
However, the problem is that although he holds the position of chairman, he does not have the corresponding shares.

In such a major matter, the position of chairman is useless, and the equity has to speak for itself.

Dill Chandler said helplessly, "I just want to remind you one thing. The bet was proposed by Ian Carr, which means he has enough confidence. Considering his performance in the past period of time, he is very good at digging up big news, and his bet is to surpass our sales in one day... I think he has a chance of doing it."

Dandy Acton sneered, "Nonsense! Of course he's confident, but the spread of news has never equated to sales! Dill, you know the newspaper industry isn't the internet. Expansion requires not only good journalism but also sufficient channels. The channels and habitual users the Los Angeles Times has cultivated over decades are not easily replaced."

Dill Chandler immediately said, "But he can expand the channels."

Since we are going to establish a bet, it is impossible not to have additional conditions.

For example, you cannot arbitrarily lower prices to grab market share, and you cannot win the bet in this way.

But channel expansion cannot be restricted. I can't stop developing just for the sake of a bet!

Israel said, "The channels are already saturated, and Ian Karl can't expand at will. In fact, even if the United States were hit by an atomic bomb, the sales of the Pioneer Newspaper would not exceed ours. He needs a channel foundation! If his channels really improve to the point where they threaten us, then I have a way."

Dill Chandler asked, "What's the solution?"

"We can acquire breaking news from our peers."

Dill Chandler understood.

In the absence of sufficient channels, it is impossible for the Pioneer Daily to defeat the Times with just one or two popular articles.

Of course you can expand channels, but the Times can also purchase news from its peers at high prices, using quantity to defeat quality - this is equivalent to a disguised price reduction, and those greedy peers will inevitably open their bloody mouths and bite off a piece of meat from the Times.

But it does theoretically allow the Times to remain intact.

As for Ian Carr, it's impossible for him to have so much money to do this. He doesn't even have so many connections.

He developed too quickly, and many of his peers were wary of him and hostile to him. They would be happy to see Ian die rather than support him - people are willing to join forces with the strong, but only if the strong will not threaten themselves.

Ian Carr made many of his peers wary of him. No matter how strong he was, he could not defeat all his peers together.

But even so, Dill Chandler still doesn't like gambling!

That is the cautious instinct gained from years of business.

Dill Chandler thought for a moment and said, "The rules don't allow illegal operations. If Dubang Group doesn't agree, we can't do this."

Dubang Group only holds a 30% stake and, in most cases, has no say, but shareholder rights remain. High-priced acquisitions of competing news companies would result in losses and not constitute legitimate operations. If Dubang Group is unhappy, it has the right to sue, but the bet will still be lost. The bet must be legal and cannot be made at the expense of normal profits. A lawsuit filed by an internal shareholder would establish fraudulent activity, effectively losing the bet.

Israel smiled. "I can convince them."

Dill Chandler asked, "What does Father mean?"

Isidora Acton: "He thought it was acceptable."

Dill Chandler looked helplessly at his two brothers-in-law, his wife, and an assistant.

Their eyes were shining with greed and excitement.

Everyone tends to accept...

Greed and pressure are the two biggest driving forces for people to take risks.

Dill Chandler sighed helplessly: "Since you have already made up your mind, why are you still asking for my opinion?"

........................

Wilmington, Delaware.

Today, a very special guest, Gaskell, came to the board meeting of the Dubang Group headquarters.

The old man looked at everyone with a smile and said softly, "Ian Karl is the most outstanding young man I have ever met. I believe everyone already knows about his glory and legend. I don't need to say more."

He looked at everyone with a calm yet confident expression:

"If Ian Carr were to run the Los Angeles Times, he would make it even better and more outstanding. I believe you all have no doubt about that."

All the directors nodded simultaneously.

Ian Carr's personal reputation far exceeded the development of the Los Angeles Herald, so no one doubted his ability - except the Acton family themselves.

Gaskell continued, "So, everyone, my proposal is simple: let them make a fair bet. If he loses, let him be a shooting star. If he wins, he will lead the Times to greater glory and bring you greater profits."

One director said: "But we have been working with The Times for a long time and we don't know Ian Carr well yet."

Gaskell smiled. "What you need to understand isn't Ian Carr's character, but his abilities... The Acton family has no right to sacrifice the interests of shareholders for their own advancement. Besides, even if they win, they won't give you the Herald. You gain nothing from this bet, and it will actually reduce the Times's profits. Even if the Acton family wins the Herald, the Times's revenue for 01 could turn into a loss, and you'll have to pay the price."

All the directors nodded at the same time, it was true.

A director said: "We can ask the Acton family to make it up to us."

Gaskell asked, "How much can they compensate? The Acton family doesn't have that much money, and without enough money, they can't win the bet with Ian Carr. Besides, even if they can come up with 100 million, will they give you that much? Do you need 100 million? Or a better company led by a media genius?"

Everyone understood this principle, so they fell silent again.

Another director said, "But we and Old Acton are friends after all!"

Gaskell added: "Linuo Bank is very willing to provide loans to high-quality companies like Dubon."

All the directors laughed at the same time.

Finally, the chairman of Dubang Group laughed and said, "That's great! Gambling should be done in a fair and reasonable environment. Dubang's job is to maintain this fairness. I think this is very appropriate!"

Gaskell smiled. "Happy working together, then."

"Happy cooperation!"

(End of this chapter)