Chapter 11: Acquisition of "Famous New Newspaper"

Early the next morning, Xia Yu began gathering information about newspapers to find the most suitable one for acquisition.

When a person immerses themselves fully in a task, time seems to fly by.

The day passed quickly as Xia Yu busied himself. In the morning, he took a trip to Kowloon Stock Exchange, discovered that the stocks had been settled, and then applied to transfer the funds to his HSBC account.

He worked until evening, and after continuously analyzing and filtering options, Xia Yu finally found a newspaper suitable for acquisition.

"Famous New Newspaper"!

It had two more characters than the current major Hong Kong newspaper, "New Newspaper"!

However, the gap between them was like a chasm. One was a popular newspaper in Hong Kong and Macau, while the other was a mediocre local paper in Hong Kong.

"Famous New Newspaper" had once been glorious.

Its founder was a prominent literary figure, known for his sharp writing. Under his leadership, by 1946, the newspaper had reached the top of the Hong Kong newspaper industry and remained there until 1950.

Unfortunately, the founder suddenly fell gravely ill and passed away before he could groom a successor, leaving only a wayward son.

Spending money is an exclusive skill of the wayward son!

Naturally, within a year, "Famous New Newspaper" began to lose market share and could no longer even make it into the top ten newspapers in Hong Kong.

At this point, the wayward second-generation realized that "Famous New Newspaper" would only incur losses in his hands. He needed to cut his losses or risk losing even more of his extravagant lifestyle!

What to do?

As the saying goes, "A son selling his father's land doesn't care," the wayward second-generation directly sold "Famous New Newspaper" and continued his extravagant lifestyle.

The new owner believed that "Famous New Newspaper" still had potential and an opportunity for revival, so he made significant efforts to revamp it.

Surprisingly, he managed to halt the downward trend and barely maintained the newspaper's position at tenth. However, his abilities were limited, and despite all his efforts, "Famous New Newspaper" continued to hover around the ninth or tenth position.

After struggling for a few years, the new owner gave up and handed the newspaper over to a manager he hired, focusing on his other ventures.

Sadly, more than ten years later, the second owner's main business was affected, and to raise funds, he was forced to sell the increasingly declining "Famous New Newspaper."

Thus, "Famous New Newspaper" came into the hands of a third owner who was determined to succeed, and it has continued under his management to this day.

However, over the years, "Famous New Newspaper" had become a minor paper with an average daily circulation of just over 3,000 copies, peaking at 5,000 copies in August 1976.

Xia Yu learned that the current owner, Ding Shengwu, the third owner, was in urgent need of money and had abandoned his idea of using the newspaper to climb the social ladder. He had long planned to sell the paper but had been unable to find a buyer for a year, leaving him anxious.

Just because others dismiss "Famous New Newspaper" doesn't mean Xia Yu does. In his view, the newspaper still holds some value and could aid his future plans.

Firstly, "Famous New Newspaper" still has social connections. Many people in Hong Kong's industry are former employees of the newspaper. These connections remain valuable even if Xia Yu rebrands the paper, as their past association with "Famous New Newspaper" remains.

Secondly, despite its decline and loss of channels, "Famous New Newspaper" still has some influence among major newsstands and distributors, which is useful for distribution.

Additionally, "Famous New Newspaper" has its own printing press, eliminating the need to outsource printing. This can reduce costs and allow for flexible printing.

Though many of the press's machines are outdated and have been idle, they can still be used temporarily. The press has enough space for future expansion.

Finally, and most importantly to Xia Yu, the value of the employees at "Famous New Newspaper" is significant!

The paper's poor sales are partly due to its ineffective employees, but Xia Yu believes the main issue is the leadership.

Without a capable leader, a newspaper's development potential is limited.

Xia Yu analyzed the situation and found that the newspaper's inability to rise was largely due to its ineffective leadership, with the employees being a secondary factor.

Given this, the solution is straightforward.

After acquiring "Famous New Newspaper," Xia Yu can personally manage it. Until he finds a suitable leader, he can serve as both president and editor-in-chief, as he has experience akin to that of a future Warner Bros. CEO. Running a small newspaper is well within his capabilities.

With this problem solved, the employees' value can be fully realized.

Don't forget, although the newspaper's staff is not numerous, they are experienced professionals who can execute Xia Yu's orders well. He doesn't need them to handle the roles of editor-in-chief or owner, just to perform their duties effectively.

Furthermore, their connections will be valuable during the newspaper's expansion. They can help quickly recruit new talent and keep pace with the newspaper's growth, minimizing the risks associated with expansion.

Thus, Xia Yu sees many benefits in acquiring "Famous New Newspaper"!

Of course, Xia Yu does not believe that no one has noticed the advantages of "Famous New Newspaper" over the years. The real issue is that no one has confidence in making it successful after acquisition!

Without confidence in the paper's potential for success, these advantages remain untapped, leaving one to only watch a potentially valuable opportunity slip by.

But!

While others lack confidence, Xia Yu is confident! He not only has the key to unlock this treasure chest but also has different methods to fully explore the potential value of "Famous New Newspaper."

According to Xia Yu's calculations, including the printing press's land and equipment, the overall value of "Famous New Newspaper" is around 300,000 HKD. Considering the owner's urgent need to sell, he can potentially acquire it for 250,000 HKD.

Value differs based on who is looking at it. To an average person, "Famous New Newspaper" is worth about 300,000 HKD, but Xia Yu sees it as worth 1,000,000 HKD. Spending a few hundred thousand to acquire something worth a million is a bargain.

As the saying goes, "What is poison to one may be honey to another!"

"It's decided—'Famous New Newspaper' it is. Time is of the essence. Once the funds are in tomorrow, I'll proceed with the acquisition!" Xia Yu clenched his fist and made up his mind.