American Gossip King

Chapter 244 Suppressing Stock Prices

That day, Ian and Murdoch talked for a long time.

No one knows what they talked about, and most people don't even know they've met.

After leaving Murdoch's estate, Ian found a nearby hotel to stay in.

That evening, James Perry came to see him again.

He spoke kindly and sincerely, expressing his deepest apologies for the matter.

Unfortunately, they only have the attitude, but no real benefits.

Excellent businessmen are like this: they may humbly beg for peace, but they will never easily give away benefits—only the poor talk about dignity, simply because their dignity is not for sale!

Ian smiled and said: It's okay, I don't mind.

This made it seem like there was no barrier between them, but everyone knew that the honeymoon period was over.

For a fleeting moment, James Perry wanted to say: Why not just give Channel 2 to Ian? There's no need to fall out with Ian over this.

But this wasn't his decision alone; it was the board's decision.

The board was reluctant to let go, not only because of the money, but also because they knew they couldn't let CBS's fate be further tied to Ian Carl... Ian Carl didn't promise to increase CBS's market value this year.

Under these circumstances, the conversation becomes "friendly but ineffective".

When he left, James Peley was preoccupied with something on his mind.

Of course, at this point his concern was whether Ian Carl had any dirt on him, and he hoped he wouldn't do that.

In any case, it shouldn't have come to that point yet.

It's definitely not that far off!

Ian doesn't intend to release damaging information about James Peley. Their past friendship still exists, and this time they'll resolve business matters through business means. Releasing damaging information would be an extreme measure.

But now, Ian's business tactics will give James Pely just as many headaches.

Standing at the hotel window, Ian watched James Peley leave.

He calmly told his secretary behind him, "Sell those eight percent of the CBS stock tomorrow."

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

Two days later, at dawn.

Ian woke up and picked up a copy of the Wall Street Journal.

The prominent headline above:

"Ian Carr sold $14.8 billion worth of CBS stock, and the partnership between Carr Media and CBS may face significant problems due to the documentary incident involving China."

Ian gave a soft hum: "It's my news, after all."

Unfortunately, due to the plan, we can't release this news ourselves.

He casually tossed the newspaper aside, got up, went to the liquor cabinet, took out a bottle of wine, poured it out, and then took some ice from the ice bucket next to him and put it down.

A red-haired beauty opened her sleepy eyes in bed: "Could I have some, Mr. Carl?"

Ian turned to look at her and handed her a glass of wine: "What's your name again? Sorry, I don't remember it."

The beautiful woman sighed softly: "My name is Nali...you didn't ask."

Ian smiled slightly: "Sorry, I've been quite busy lately."

I met this beauty at the bar last night, and we hit it off after just a few words.

What comes easily is not cherished as much.

She wasn't angry. She downed her drink in one gulp: "I'm leaving. I'll miss you, Ian Carl, but I guess you won't miss me."

As she put on her clothes with a flourish, just as she was about to leave, she turned back to look at Ian: "I'm not a prostitute, Ian Carl, but I still want some financial help."

Ian shrugged. "How much?"

The other party shook their head: "You sold your CBS stock. Does that mean it will continue to fall?"

"Yes," Ian replied.

"How much do you estimate it will drop to?"

Ian laughed: "This is more than asking for money directly, but I can accept it... The impact won't be too big. I estimate it will drop by about 20% at most, but I don't recommend you go that low. I'm not 100% sure about financial matters."

"Thank you. I won't tell anyone." The beautiful woman walked out.

Ian casually remarked, "It doesn't matter if short selling gets out; it will only make it more effective... provided you have enough influence."

The door opened and closed again.

Ian walked to the window and silently fiddled with the camera, pointing it at the building across the street. This had become a habit for him, almost like a part of his life.

In the afternoon, Ian received a call from James Peley.

He knew that Ian had sold those eight percent of his CBS shares, and he was filled with apprehension.

On the phone, Ian's voice was heavy: "Ian, I understand how you feel, but you're creating panic for CBS. We can talk this out."

Ian said calmly, "Haven't we already talked about it?"

James Perry's voice was deep and serious: "And then what? Will you sell that 17% too? If so, the board has a right of first refusal; you can't just sell it without permission. If you continue to release negative news, it will only cause your shares to continue to fall in value, resulting in even greater losses!"

Those eight percent are shares on the market, freely tradable, but this 17% is not, so it requires board approval… This was part of their original agreement.

Ian laughed: "Then just let the board pass the resolution."

James Pely was startled.

Ian owns 42.5% of the shares, but he has no decision-making power. However, Ian's tone implies that he does!

In other words, does that mean he has supporters on the board?

He can sell the shares at will, provided he has the support of shareholders holding 8.5% of the equity.

broken!

There's a mole!

Is it Ankang Company? James Perry immediately thought.

However, their shareholding is not large; even combined with Ian Carl, it does not reach 51%.

So there must still be people!

The latest novel is first published here!

James Perry said urgently, "Ian, even if you're unhappy with CBS, there's no need to go this far."

Ian said calmly, "It wasn't me. We'll always be friends, and I wouldn't do that, but it's none of my business if others do it."

James Perry felt a chill run down his spine: "Murdoch?"

Ian didn't say anything, but silently hung up the phone.

He sat on the sofa, motionless, as if in the shadows.

………………

Things have returned to the way they were before.

To short sell, one must continuously release various negative news and suppress the price step by step.

This time, however, the leak didn't come from Ian Carl, but from News Corp.

CBS failed to compete for LEE;

CBS loses Channel 4;

CBS's popular host Bernice Kraut has left for LANN.

WND President Jason Francis stated that the Star of the Day segment will not be moved to CBS and that he has refused to cooperate with Channel 2.

CBS President Dandy Frank met privately with the chairman of NBC.

A series of unfavorable news stories emerged.

Unlike previous reports that focused on scandals, this news is not about scandals, and a significant portion of it is related to Ian.

For example, Lee was snatched away and bought by Carl Media; Channel 4 was also bought by Ian from CBS to join LANN; Bernice Kraut became famous because of the Oscars broadcast and soon joined LANN as well.

Jason Francis of WND is a staunch supporter of Ian Carr and has expressed clear dissatisfaction with CBS's unauthorized alterations to the documentary. He directly confronts the big boss and will not agree to the transfer of assets from WND's star programs... He is prepared to take WND back to Carr Media at any time.

The only thing unrelated to Ian was that President Dandy Frank's private meeting with the NBC chairman, but the news wasn't actually done by Ian; it was done by News Corporation itself... Other people's reporters are reporters too; who can't dig up a juicy story?

Most of this information was already public knowledge, but since others didn't talk about it, nobody cared.

But when they appeared in a concentrated manner, things that had not been expected to emerge came to light, especially Ian Carr's sell-off, which made many people realize that CBS seemed to be in trouble and that their stock price was overvalued.

Ian Carr, though not yet at the level of Warren Buffett, has built a vast empire in less than three years, making him a business prodigy. His sale of shares is a major blow to confidence.

Bernice Kraut's departure from LANN wouldn't have had that much of an impact... She's not Tok Carlson, she doesn't have that much influence, but aren't many things just hype?

If you're shameless enough, Ian Carr can be a god in the English music scene forever!

Thus, according to News Corp reporters, Bernice Kraut became the best presenter in the world, and that letting her go was CBS's biggest loss.

Those who trade stocks don't pay much attention to entertainment. Whether they know the woman's status or not is not important; what matters is what others tell them.

As the news continued to spread, CBS's stock price began to fall steadily.

Shortly afterward, a News Corp reporter interviewed Ian Carr and asked him if he had given up CBS. Ian replied firmly, "I have no comment on that."

Then everyone understood.

After all, if you don't want to give up, you can just say no... If you say you have no comment, then it's true!

On the surface, everything Ian did had no intention of harming CBS. However, the readily available incidents, unrelated to any scandals, the clever manipulation and publicity, coupled with Ian Carr's objective actions, still caused CBS's stock price to fluctuate.

As a result, CBS's market capitalization began to decline from its peak of $185 billion.

Despite repeated statements from CBS attempting to salvage the situation, they could not circumvent the fact that Ian Carr had sold his shares.

CBS was alarmed by this.

On this day, CBS Channel 2's main anchor broadcast the news directly on television:

"Ian Karl is suspected of colluding with Russia!"

(End of this chapter)