Reborn in America, I am a legendary short seller on Wall Street.

Chapter 215 Yellow News
On Tuesday afternoon, Larry took George Eastman to a Wall Street law firm specializing in corporate equity deals, and in the presence of the lawyers, they signed two letters of intent for investment.

One document is the "Letter of Intent from New England United Capital Investments Inc. Regarding the Investment in Eastman Dry Stock Corporation", and the other is the "Protocol on the Investment in Eastman Dry Stock Corporation by Freeport Cornerstone Holdings Inc."

Both contracts show that the investment company will subscribe to a new Eastman Dry Printing Company for $25, and will subscribe to 2500 shares at a price of $100 per share.

The new company is expected to issue a total of 3 shares, which would represent approximately 8.3% of the total shares issued by each company.

George Eastman, as the de facto controller of Eastman Dry Printing, promised to prioritize meeting the two companies' shareholding requests and provide substantial assistance during the company's restructuring process.

If the new company is to reduce or increase its share capital, the shareholding needs of the two existing companies should be taken into account first.

Furthermore, the two companies will have the option to purchase additional shares in Eastman's new company within the range of $100,000.

The two investment firms pledged to deposit $25 each into the fundraising account and purchase shares during the initial fundraising phase of Eastman's new company.

Although both contracts are letters of intent for investment, they have become legally binding after being signed by both parties.

Larry's concern was that Eastman might find other funding on Wall Street and lose the opportunity to invest in Kodak.

Now that the Letter of Intent for Equity Investment has been signed, Larry can finally relax.

When they came down from the law firm, the two said goodbye to each other on the street with the contract in hand.

Eastman stared at Larry and cautiously reiterated, "Mr. Livingston, helping me raise investment is extremely important, but if you can help me control Bausch & Lomb, that would also be very significant. Please treat both as important matters."

Larry smiled at him and promised, "Your new company's private equity fundraising has a timetable, so please rest assured. But regarding the acquisition of Bausch & Lomb, I need time to make full preparations."

Eastman nodded, then waved goodbye to Larry.
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No sooner had Eastman left than Larry went straight to Pine Street next door to find Goldman Sachs.

Henry Goldman saw Larry and assumed he was there to urge Lone Star Security to speed up the process. He hurriedly found a few documents and was about to describe the progress to Larry.

The latter waved his hand and said directly,

"I need to do a business investigation for a company. Hmm, this would be considered business consulting for you. Do you take it? Please give me a reasonable price!"

Having learned his lesson from Larry's previous experience, Henry Goldman was much more compliant this time and immediately made an offer.

“A standard business consultation costs $400. For cross-disciplinary collaborations involving subsequent legal matters, valuations, accounting, etc., we charge a commission of 5% on the other party’s quote plus an information fee. This is all publicly disclosed.”

Larry nodded in agreement, and then said,
"It must be kept strictly confidential. If possible, I'd like to have you sign a confidentiality agreement. If my commission is leaked, you will be held legally responsible!"

Henry Goldman's face turned serious, and after thinking for a moment, he spoke.
"Then, then you'll have to add another $100 for confidentiality! Mr. Livingston, it's not that I'm greedy, this is the going rate now!"

Larry waved his hand and generously ordered, "Go get your business consulting contracts, the kind with confidentiality clauses!"

Fifteen minutes later, Larry Livingston and Henry Goldman signed a business consulting contract with a confidentiality agreement.

The contract was essentially a "business intelligence investigation," in which Goldman Sachs would use its own channels to conduct secret intelligence gathering and present Larry with an encrypted report.

The contract did not specify any penalties for "failure to gather intelligence," but simply stated that Goldman Sachs would only charge a maximum consulting fee of $400, regardless of how many people Goldman Sachs used.

However, the penalties for leaks are severe. In other words, Goldman Sachs must ensure that the client's consultations are not known to outsiders, otherwise it will be subject to a penalty of ten times the consultation fee.

In addition, Goldman Sachs must also guarantee the authenticity and validity of the intelligence.

After the contract was signed, Henry Goldman smiled and asked, "Mr. Livingston, which company's information do you want to know, and why are you being so cautious?"

"Bausch & Lomb, I need all their information, including their company history, shareholding structure, order history, current cash flow and fixed assets, as well as patents and other related information," Larry said solemnly to Goldman, then added after a moment's thought.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing. I'd like to know about the relationships between the shareholders, whether there are any conflicts or potential conflicts such as clashes in their business philosophies."

Henry Goldman looked relieved and said, "I can't speak for other companies, but we're the agents for this company's corporate bonds. Leave this to me!"

"How many days will it take to see the report?" Larry asked, then added, "I will decide whether to add subsequent projects such as asset appraisal based on the report."

Henry Goldman thought for only a few seconds before saying, "Two days! Come on Thursday to pick up this investigation report on Bausch & Lomb!"
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Wednesday morning was April 13th, and Larry went to the New York office of Paine Weber Company early to see Mr. Porter.

Upon seeing him, Mr. Porter first instructed the front desk manager to produce $6120 in cash, a commission rebate from the New England Railroad transaction. Mr. Porter had forgotten to give this money to Larry on previous visits. Today, he was determined to hand it over to Larry immediately, lest he forget again.

Larry frowned as he put the $6120 into his wallet. During his time in New York, he had gotten used to paying his bills by writing checks.

Larry feels a little uncomfortable carrying so much cash again.

The two then returned to Mr. Potter's office to check on the progress.

As for Larry, while he was busy finalizing his company's investment, he also asked George Eastman to give a presentation on Kodak's future prospects at the fund's inaugural meeting.

Eastman was more than happy to accept this offer, and Larry, drawing on his extensive marketing experience from later generations, provided the other party with many good ideas.

Eastman has been busy with this lately.

As for Mr. Potter, things are actually progressing quite well.

Mr. Porter has already begun preparations for the establishment of the fund. The relevant preparations for setting up the company have been completed, and preliminary contact has been made regarding the relevant office location and the hiring of personnel.

In addition, Mr. Porter also mobilized his friends in the press.

Larry asked curiously, "Mr. Porter, do you have any friends in the press? Mainly from where?"

"The New York World, The Sun, The New York Times, The New York Times!"

Larry then asked, "Are they on very good terms? Could you get them to help us promote our new fund business model extensively?"

Mr. Potter smiled, picked up a newspaper, spread it out on Larry's desk, and said with no small amount of pride, "Take a look! You'll understand after you read it."

This is a copy of the New York World.

Acquired and led by Joseph Pulitzer in 1883, the newspaper was known for its investigative journalism and "yellow journalism" style, attracting readers with sensational reporting and illustrations, and became one of the most controversial newspapers of its time.

Of course, the "yellow news" at this time is not the yellow that Larry understood in his previous life, but rather "shocking news from the late 19th century with vulgar content".

Yellow journalism was a sensational and vulgar style of news reporting that emerged in the late 19th century in the United States during a period of competition among newspapers. Its name originated from Pulitzer's cartoon column "A Boy in Yellow Pajamas" in the New York World.

Such reports often employ exaggerated headlines, sensational content, numerous images, and fabricated narratives to attract public attention and increase circulation.

These news reports often employ oversized fonts and yellow text on a black background for visual impact, promoting sensational headlines such as "Shocking! Spanish atrocities, the US must retaliate."

The article is also full of fabrication and exaggeration, such as fabricating interview transcripts, exaggerating details of crimes or scandals, and even creating fake news.

In terms of subject matter, yellow journalism also focuses on crime, pornography, and violence. In addition, it covers the secrets of financial tycoons and celebrity scandals, which are of great interest to Americans in this era.

Larry doesn't usually read World newspapers because they are too lowbrow. He was used to sensationalist and clickbait news in his previous life and thought that returning to 19th-century America would free him from the harassment of such trashy news.

But to Larry's surprise, he found the ancestor of the "shocking media" in the United States at that time - yellow news.

Ironically, Joseph Pulitzer, the creator of yellow journalism, was also the founder of the Pulitzer Prize, the world's most prestigious media award.

The Pulitzer Prize was created to recognize serious journalism and public values.

Its core principles include: emphasizing "fighting for progress and reform," and opposing corruption and privilege;
The works are required to be "absolutely independent" and "dedicated to the public good".

This is a brilliant irony when viewed alongside Joseph Pulitzer's "yellow journalism."

At this moment, the second article on the front page of the *New York World* that Mr. Porter had produced contained the following:
"The 'Gentlemen' of the Old World and the Business Ethics of the New World".

The subtitle is "On the vast gap between certain foreign millionaires and their claimed aristocratic virtues".

Larry paused, then immediately realized what kind of report this was, and smiled as he looked up at Mr. Potter.
"Has your attack on that old bastard Cecil already begun?"

Mr. Potter corrected him sternly, “This isn’t an attack, it’s a counterattack! I formally notified his housekeeper yesterday to pay the rent as stipulated in the contract. But you know what they said—that their master went to England and couldn’t pay. Sure enough, that guy started cheating! I’m going to start acting according to my previous plan!”

(End of this chapter)