America: My Time

Chapter 447 Greed in the Face of Profit

Chapter 447 Greed in the Face of Profit
"John, I don't understand why you would give such a huge amount of profit to these three Japanese companies. Even if you intend to split up the game world, we can do it ourselves. We don't need them at all!" After the Japanese guys left, Morgan couldn't help but ask, filled with doubt.

John sighed and said, “I don’t want to give them benefits for nothing, but the circumstances force me to do this. Those Japanese game companies have already bypassed the patents for the game world and they already have their own game consoles. If we still distribute the profits of this new company according to the original shares, do you think they will agree? With these shares in hand, they can no longer stand with those Japanese game companies. They need to protect their own interests from being affected.”

Got it. Now all the problems are solved. Morgan finally understands why John wanted to involve these three guys from Japan. Things have changed on the Japanese side, so he had no choice but to do it.

"Tomorrow, Game World will release an announcement to show those guys what it means to retaliate. Hopefully, they can hold on! If you two have no questions, we'll hold a press conference with those guys from Japan tomorrow to give them a 'satisfactory' response and let them see Game World's counterattack."

"No problem, we have no problems at all!"

With Morgan and Jimmy gone, the Japanese guys received their reward and sighed, saying, "Morgan did indeed have another talk with that little John, probably about our shares. With the three of us owning 45% of the shares, anyone would be tempted. Mr. Morita, what do you think we should do?"

"Let's wait and see. Since John invited us here, he probably doesn't have any ill intentions. If he wants to get rid of us, it won't be difficult for him. We still have an irreplaceable role in the game world. Without us, who will do the game world's manufacturing? Actually, all we need to do is confirm the authenticity of tomorrow's press conference, and that's enough!"

"That's true. The three of us control the OEM manufacturing of the gaming industry. Without us, there will be problems in the gaming industry. Although ASUS in Taiwan is developing rapidly, it still lags far behind us, and even now it is under great production pressure. However, they have ordered a lot of memory chips!"

"We've already been informed about this. It should be for next year's production needs, so don't worry too much about it. Right now, we should focus our energy on the game world. Hopefully, John won't let us down tomorrow and can help the game world's stock price recover. Otherwise, we'll be under a lot of pressure."

"There's one more thing you've all forgotten: stocks, especially game-world stocks, have already plummeted. We need to be prepared to buy them back, and I believe Morgan and John are prepared for that." When Akio Morita said this, the representatives from Panasonic and Hitachi nodded in agreement; it was indeed something they had forgotten.

"Mr. John, is the press conference held by Game World today to explain the stock price crash?"

"An explanation? I believe that Game World doesn't need to offer any explanation; everyone understands the situation. Due to unforeseen circumstances, we had to lay off employees to ensure the company's profitability. However, we feel deeply sorry for those who left, and therefore express our sincere apologies to them. To ensure that Game World's normal development is not affected, we convened an emergency meeting with all major shareholders to discuss countermeasures and propose the following measures. First, Game World will divest the rights to its home game console products and games, selling them entirely to companies such as Panasonic. Game World will no longer produce or sell the corresponding game software. However, compatibility in this regard will be addressed in the next home game console platform..." Furthermore, we will no longer engage with any game companies to avoid negatively impacting player experiences. Secondly, we will compensate shareholders affected by this unforeseen event. If you have sufficient proof that your losses were due to panic selling in the past few days, Game World will cover them. This compensation will come from the proceeds of the sale of the home game console patents. Shareholders who harmed the company's interests are not included in this compensation. Thirdly, we will initiate a stock buyback to ensure that Game World's stock price is not significantly affected! Oh, and now I can say that the acquisition has begun. Finally, the proceeds from the sale of the home game consoles will be distributed as dividends at the end of the year.

Stunned, all the media reporters were dumbfounded. The game world's counterattack was too powerful. They didn't even talk about investigations. They directly and decisively cut the Gordian knot, selling off the home game console project and then subsidizing the shareholders who suffered losses. This was the first time shareholders had heard such good news. As for the stock buyback and dividends, the media reporters didn't care. This was the most normal thing to do.

"Mr. John, has your decision been approved by the board of directors and the shareholders' meeting? Would such a sale intentionally harm the interests of the shareholders?"

"As the major shareholder of Game World, along with Morgan Stanley, Sony, Panasonic, and Hitachi, our five parties hold more than 51% of the shares. Therefore, our decision is in line with the interests of the company and the majority of shareholders. As for what other shareholders think or how they see it, we cannot take that into consideration. To be able to frantically dump Game World's stock price in such a short period of time is probably not something an ordinary person can do; it's impossible to do it without holding enough shares."

"Mr. John, how does Game World respond to franchisees' requests to share the game platform?"

"I think this gentleman has asked the wrong person. Game World has already sold the patents for home game consoles, and even the games themselves, so this question is not one I can answer. If necessary, Game World can also sell the handheld game console project. As long as unforeseen circumstances arise, we will make corresponding changes. Businesses adapt to change."

"That's it, those guys are finished. No need to wait for the final result, they've already split up the game world. If you're still not satisfied, they can continue splitting it!" That was the first thought of all the media reporters present. Many didn't even have the intention to ask any further questions; they just wanted to quickly inform their newspapers. Of course, many more weren't going to inform their newspapers, but instead rushing to the stock exchange, wanting to be the first to buy up game world shares at rock-bottom prices. The once packed press conference hall quickly emptied out. Many in the game world were worried about being bombarded with questions from the media, but the result was this: the boss dismissed them with just a few words.

At this time, some people went to report information about the game world, while many more went to the stock exchange.

"Look, aren't those guys from the New York Times? Why didn't they go back to the office? Instead, they ran to the stock exchange. These guys are all acting so arrogant. Turns out they're just like that. They have nothing to do with us. They say our tabloids are not respectable, but they're no better."

"Hurry up and drive me, what are you dawdling for? Why do you care about them? We need to hurry up and buy at the bottom."

"Yes, why should I bother arguing with them? I should just go and buy at the bottom first."

"Mina, how are we going to explain to our superiors that we're sneaking into the stock exchange instead of going to the newspaper office?"

"Why worry about so much? Look how many people chose to return to the organization. Besides, the press conference doesn't seem to be over yet. At least the host of the game world didn't say it was over. When Mr. John announced the four decisions, some people had already secretly left. At most, we can say we were stuck in traffic and that's why we came back late!"

Good heavens, these reporters are incredibly greedy when it comes to profit. The stock price of Game World had been halved before, and if they were quick enough, they could buy at the bottom. They all believed that Game World's buyback would happen later than the press conference, so they would definitely still have a chance.

Driven by self-interest, John smiled calmly as he looked at the spotless meeting room and said, "See? This is the most genuine reaction. You all don't need to worry about the stock price of the game world now, do you?"

“John, it seems like the stock exchange isn’t open yet, there are still twenty-odd minutes left. Aren’t you afraid of alerting them and causing the buyback plan to fail?”

"Mr. Morita, how many of those guys do you think will choose to report directly to the newspaper? And how many financial professionals know about this? Even if they do know, so what? It's already started in New York. How can a bunch of ragtag individuals compare to professionals? I believe it won't be long before news comes in!"

Soar! Soar! Soar! Not long after John's press conference began in New York, the stock price of Game World, which had been continuously being dumped, was rapidly rising. The shares being sold off in the market were almost completely snapped up in a very short time. With five companies exerting their efforts and all being prepared, the result was naturally clean and efficient.

"John, how much have you gained? I haven't gotten satisfactory results on my end, only less than five percent of the shares!" Morgan asked John after receiving the call.

At almost the same time, they both received phone calls from their subordinates informing them that the deal in New York had ended, the shares had been driven up, and there was no need for them to continue, so they both chose to let go.

"It's only less than five percent. I'm afraid your gains will be even smaller. It seems we underestimated those guys. They've already bought back most of the stocks they dumped, and there aren't many left on the market."

(End of this chapter)