Hong Kong Entertainment 1979: A Beating Up the Manager at the Start

Chapter 148 Taking Action

a new day.

Li Jiangbo woke up early, kissed the still-sleeping Lin Qingxia, got dressed, and went to work.

He had just arrived at the office when the phone on his desk rang.

Li Jiangbo picked up the phone, "Hello!"

Liu Cheng's voice came from the other end of the phone, "Boss, Davidson and the CRA have given in."

Li Jiangbo was overjoyed upon hearing this; he had been waiting for this day for so long.

He quickly said, "Okay! You continue to keep an eye on the people from these two companies."

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"Okay, boss."

Li Jiangbo hung up the phone immediately and then called the friendly trading company in Australia.

As soon as the call was connected, Li Jiangbo said, "This is Li Jiangbo. Please answer the phone to Zhao Dong."

Upon hearing the name, the people there dared not be careless and immediately agreed before going to find Zhao Dong.

About three minutes later, Zhao Dong's voice came from the other end of the phone.

Li Jiangbo said in a deep voice, "Let's make our move! First, contact the other two companies and see how they react."

Zhao Dong became visibly excited upon hearing this.

"Understood, Brother Bo. I'll go with Brian to check it out right away."

Li Jiangbo nodded. "My bottom line is 90% of the original price. If we negotiate it down, the difference is yours."

Zhao Dong became even more excited upon hearing this, "I understand, Brother Bo! Thank you, Brother Bo!"

Li Jiangbo didn't say anything and hung up the phone directly.

After hearing a busy signal, Zhao Dong put down the phone and let out a strange cry.

He then rushed to Brian's office and began urging Brian to take action.

Accompanied by Zhao Dong, Brian arrived at CRA Company.

Led by staff, the two arrived at a conference room.

A short while later, Brown pushed open the door and walked in.

He sat down in front of the two men and shook hands with them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, gentlemen."

Brian didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Mr. Brown, we're here to discuss the shares of Lih Company."

Brown picked up the coffee from his secretary's cup and took a sip. "I know you want our 29.4% stake."

Brian nodded. "Yes, the price is negotiable."

Brown put down the cup and crossed his arms in front of him.

"Negotiation? Mr. Brian, I don't like haggling. One price, the original price, not a penny less."

Brian frowned. "Mr. Brown, everyone knows the current state of Rediffusion's business. So, I think the price is too high."

Brown scoffed. "High? Mr. Brian, last year several of us were bidding, and we ended up paying 128 million to acquire the shares. Now you want to buy them at a lower price? Impossible. I, Brown, never do business at a loss."

Zhao Dong remained silent, fully aware that Brown was making an unreasonable demand.

After all, we both know what Li's current situation is like. Now it's just a matter of who can keep their composure.

Brian smiled. "Mr. Brown, this isn't about losing money, it's about whether it's worth it. I'm sure you're aware of Li's current business situation, so please give us a reasonable price."

He paused for a moment, then added, "If the price isn't right, we can wait."

Brown raised an eyebrow. "Wait? Wait for what?"

"Wait until it returns to its proper price."

Brown's smile was a little stiff, but he quickly recovered.

"Mr. Brian, everyone acquired their shares through auction, so this price is already quite reasonable. If there were another auction, I think many more people would be willing to buy. Besides, you know, TV stands are very difficult to obtain in Hong Kong!"

Brian instantly understood that Brown was threatening him. After all, there are many uncertainties involved in bidding.

Just like in the last auction, Henry from Jones Company interfered and drove the bidding price to an unreasonable level.

If another auction is organized, there might be other disruptors.

Furthermore, when Brown pointed out the issue of Hong Kong TV station licenses, Brian knew that his trip might have been in vain.

He paused for a few seconds. "Brown, business is business. The market changes, and prices naturally change too. Maybe if you organize another auction, you won't be able to get the price you're asking for."

"To be honest, the original price is my bottom line. Anything below that price is out of the question."

Brian and Zhao Dong exchanged a glance, and Zhao Dong shook his head slightly.

The two stood up. "That's all for today. I hope you can reconsider."

"Take care, and don't bother seeing me off."

The two left the Melbourne Newspapers building and got into their car.

Zhao Dong sat in the passenger seat, his face looking very unpleasant.

Brian said with a wry smile, "That old fox is really persistent, and he's just taking advantage of the rarity of Hong Kong TV licenses to act with impunity."

Zhao Dong nodded. "I already expected that. Let's go check out the CRA."

Half an hour had passed when we arrived at CRA.

The two went inside and waited for about a minute before Howard came out enthusiastically.

Howard's attitude changed after he understood Brian and Zhao Dong's purpose.

He said in an extremely cold tone, "Shares are fine, but at the original price, no bargaining."

Brian tried to reason with him and explain the situation.

Howard listened with great interest, but when it came to the price, he stuck to the original price and wouldn't budge.

Zhao Dong couldn't help but speak up, "Mr. Howard, business isn't conducted or negotiated like this. Markets fluctuate; there's no such thing as a guaranteed profit."

Howard coughed twice. "Young men, if you think the price is too high, you don't have to buy it. There's no need to talk to me about the market or anything else."

Upon hearing this, the two could only awkwardly get up and take their leave.

Once the two returned to the company, Zhao Dong made a phone call to Hong Kong.

The phone was answered as soon as it rang.

"How is it?"

Zhao Dong recognized the voice as Li Jiangbo's and said dejectedly, "Brother Bo, those two guys are really sticking to their guns."

They insisted on the original price. And Brown had already made it clear that television station licenses in Hong Kong are very rare.

After a moment of silence, Li Jiangbo said, "I understand."

"So what do we do now?"

Li Jiangbo thought for a moment, "You guys continue negotiating with them and buy me some time. I'm preparing to have someone contact the other shareholders, and then we'll kick them out of the board of directors."

"By the way, give a call to the people at the Friendship Trading Company stationed in Lijiang and ask them to come and see me."

"Brother Bo, do you mean we should use the name of Friendly Trading Company to negotiate with other shareholders?"

Li Jiangbo nodded, "I can't make a move yet. I'm also thinking of acquiring Shaw Brothers Cinemas, but I'm afraid Shaw Brothers will get angry."

"Okay, Brother Bo, I'll call him right away and have him come to see you tomorrow?"

"Okay, I'll call you then."

The two chatted for a while longer before hanging up the phone.

After hanging up the phone, Li Jiangbo sneered, thinking that he could rely on the rarity of Hong Kong TV station's TV board to stubbornly refuse to budge.

That's a pipe dream. Since you're so ungrateful, I won't hold back anymore.