American Gossip King

Chapter 72 First, take down the Times

Take over the Los Angeles Times?

Ian was momentarily stunned by Gaskell's suggestion.

He stared blankly at the old man: "What did you say?"

Gaskell smiled: "Even if a snake tries to swallow an elephant, it will suffer from indigestion. So you need an intermediate product. Take over the Los Angeles Times, and you'll have a larger scale, more capital to raise, and a basis for negotiating with CBS."

CBS is a publicly traded company, but their stock has a dual-class share structure.

Currently, 60% of the shares are outstanding and have no voting rights. The 40% of shares held by the board members are the ones with real voting power.

Ian certainly couldn't accept shares without voting rights, so negotiations were necessary.

Furthermore, listed companies generally do not require a premium to acquire shares; they can simply buy the stock as usual. However, if you want to acquire a sufficient amount of equity, a premium is unavoidable, unless the company's stock price has plummeted and it urgently needs someone to prop it up, in which case you can do the opposite.

If CBS hadn't reached that level, they would certainly welcome a small number of shares, but they certainly wouldn't easily accept acquiring sufficient equity, especially shares within the board of directors.

This requires Ian to demonstrate sufficient strength first.

CBS would never sell its business to someone they consider insignificant... unless you have enough money to make them abandon their dignity.

Ian Carl can't do it, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to—anyone who buys the Illusion Eye at a high price is an idiot!

That's why Gaskell suggested he focus on building his own business first, rather than trying to pull off some miracles—some things are suited for miracles, and some aren't!

Ian gave a wry smile: "The Los Angeles Times is the backbone of the Acton family; they won't sell it."

The Acton family is the controlling shareholder of the Los Angeles Times. They certainly don't only own the Times; they actually own more than a dozen newspapers and magazines, but the Los Angeles Times is undoubtedly the most valuable, surpassing everything else.

“It won’t be any harder than taking over CBS,” Gaskell said. “Tell me, Ian, what is your greatest source of confidence?”

Ian thought seriously, a smile playing on his lips: "My report! Although you oppose my control of Kreps, do you know what? The biggest advantage of controlling the mob isn't how much money you can get from them, but how much information you can obtain. Bloodshed, violence, gunfights, killings—I can get hold of any illegal deals they make immediately, and even… actively create them!"

Lena lightly covered her red lips: "Oh, my God!"

Only now did she finally understand the source of Ian's confidence.

He can and dares to create news himself!

Gaskell had known this for a long time, but this was the first time he had heard Ian admit it directly.

He didn't care too much; American businessmen doing dirty work wasn't a one-off thing... but someone like Ian Carl was rare!

He simply asked earnestly, "Are you confident enough in your own fighting ability?"

Ian replied, "If I were the one starting the war, yes, I'd be confident. But if someone were to snipe me from a distance, I wouldn't be confident at all."

Gaskell laughed: "That puts my mind at ease. Don't worry, Ian, you're not at the point where you're going to be targeted yet."

"But that day will come eventually." Ian chuckled.

A business owner who doesn't get a headshot by a sniper isn't a big shot!

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Mischel Street, Kripps' residence.

Ian sat in Kripps's study seat, with Kripps standing obediently to his left.

Ian slowly handed Kripps a document: "This is a newly established company called White Mountain. From now on, the main profits and expenses of the Crippled Gang will come from here. You and your men own 70% of the company's shares, and you decide how to allocate them. You are the chairman. The remaining 30% of the shares belong to a man named Dan Karu."

Kripps asked, "Who is Dankaru?"

Ian smiled: "Someone with a complete set of background information, complete tax returns, medical insurance, driving records, even photos, citizenship, and jail records, but who can never be found."

Kripps understood. He said, "The Shawshank Redemption?"

Ian laughed: "That's right."

Dankaru is Ian's alias. He can just take the money directly from the Cripples Gang. The money is kept in Linuo Bank, and all the accounts are clear. However, apart from Kreps and Gaskell, no one knows that Dankaru is Ian Karl.

Ian used all of his company's revenue to expand, and used his share of the profits from White Mountain Corporation to enjoy life.

Ian continued, "In addition, White Mountain Corporation pays the Los Angeles Herald $500,000 in GG fees every month."

As gangsters, they make a lot of money, and they also have legitimate businesses... operating legitimate businesses through illegal means, such as nightclubs, bars, etc.

The $500,000 in GG revenue each month could be easily covered with a small article in the margins of the Herald's page, and Herald is a wholly owned company by Ian Carl.

The benefits to the company are not just making money, but also increasing its valuation, which means it can borrow more money. With the presence of a board of directors, Gaskell is unlikely to give him money easily, and sufficient book profits provide a strong reason for support.

These were all things Gaskell taught him.

The old man was his mentor and friend!

After giving these instructions, Ian said, "Of course, this money isn't free. I can do a lot for you. I know the Crippled Gang has some connections up there, but now you have an even more powerful backer. I can not only help you handle official matters, but also your competitors… I love explosive news!"

Ian chuckled as he spoke.

This is truly explosive news!

However, the current situation is one of explosive magnitude!

Kreps thinks that even if you don't make a promise, I wouldn't dare to go against you.

The latest novel is first published here!

Lord God of Slaughter!

He smiled and bowed his head: "Okay, boss. From now on, you are officially my boss."

He obediently took the agreement and wrote his name on it.

After giving instructions to Kripps, Ian left.

………………

In the days that followed, Ian and Filileso continued their relentless pursuit of news.

In Los Angeles, pornography and violence are eternal.

With his X-ray vision, Ian could see through all the filth and darkness.

Almost every day, the Los Angeles Herald features a variety of explosive news stories.

These news stories weren't as big as the previous ones, but they were still "rich in content and elements," further enhancing the reputation of the Los Angeles Herald and Ian Carr, and the Butterfly.

The Los Angeles Times felt the most pressure from the rapid growth of the Los Angeles Herald.

This is a top-three newspaper in the United States, with a daily circulation of over 1.5 million copies. It has the most GG pages in the country—if you buy their newspaper, eight out of ten pages will be GG.

Although they eventually declined, they were still one of the most powerful newspapers during this period.

However, even such a large newspaper is now beginning to feel a huge threat from rising competitors in the same city.

"Useless! Useless! You're all a bunch of useless trash!"

In the Los Angeles Times editorial office, Israel, known as "The Tyrant," roared in anger.

If the Los Angeles Herald continues to thrive like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep my position as editor-in-chief.

Why?

Why does the Los Angeles Herald always manage to find all sorts of big news?

This is no longer as simple as Ian Karl using despicable methods to turn a small matter into a big one; he seems to have the eyes of a god, always able to see the crucial core!

This realization also filled Israel with despair.

Just then, his secretary entered the office: "Mr. Israel, Ian Carl called and would like to speak with you."

"What did you say? Ian Karl?" Israel asked, taken aback.

(End of this chapter)