Chapter 221: Acquisition of *Tian Tian Daily* Nearing Completion
The 12 million Hong Kong dollars spent this time did not require Xia Yu to draw from other funds, as Nine Ding Media Company now had sufficient resources of its own.
Since January this year, first *Jiuding Daily* was launched, followed by *Economic* Weekly, and then *Fengyun Daily*. The revenue-generating capabilities of these three key pillars were formidable.
*Jiuding Daily*'s monthly advertising revenue jumped from the initial 1 million Hong Kong dollars to 3.6 million Hong Kong dollars, accumulating 10.24 million Hong Kong dollars in advertising revenue for the company so far.
The *Economic* Weekly was the most lucrative, with the latest week's advertising revenue reaching 2.4 million Hong Kong dollars. Despite being in circulation for only a few months, its large circulation and numerous advertising slots had generated 22 million Hong Kong dollars in advertising revenue.
Finally, *Fengyun Daily*, despite being the newest, had a large circulation and filled all its advertising slots. Advertisers had already deposited a month's worth of funds into Nine Ding Media Company's account, resulting in 2.1 million Hong Kong dollars in advertising revenue.
The total advertising revenue amounted to 34.34 million Hong Kong dollars.
In addition to these three major sources of advertising revenue, selling newspapers and magazines also brought in profits.
As of now, *Jiuding Daily* had a cumulative circulation of nearly 80 million copies, and *Fengyun Daily* had circulated around 13 million copies.
Combined, the cumulative circulation of both newspapers was approaching 100 million copies!
Currently, the selling price of a newspaper in Hong Kong is 0.3 Hong Kong dollars, with the factory price at 0.22 Hong Kong dollars. Therefore, just from newspaper sales, 20.5 million Hong Kong dollars in revenue had been generated.
However, the profit margin from selling newspapers was quite low. The 20.5 million Hong Kong dollars in revenue had a gross profit of less than 3 million Hong Kong dollars.
This was negligible compared to advertising revenue, where almost all income was net profit after taxes.
Aside from these two newspapers, *Economic* Weekly had a cumulative circulation of 8.82 million copies so far. The retail price was 2.5 Hong Kong dollars, with the factory price at 1.8 Hong Kong dollars, generating 15.9 million Hong Kong dollars in revenue, with a gross profit of around 2.6 million Hong Kong dollars.
Thus, Nine Ding Media Company's total revenue to date was about 71 million Hong Kong dollars, with a gross profit around 40 million Hong Kong dollars. Advertising revenue contributed over 85% of the profit.
In fact, an 85% contribution was considered low. This was due to Nine Ding Media Company's large-scale newspaper printing, which compressed costs, allowing for some profit from newspaper sales.
Other newspapers did not have Nine Ding Media Company's capacity. Many newspapers were almost sold at cost or even at a loss, relying heavily on advertising for survival, with advertising profits making up over 90% or even 95% of their revenue.
Although Nine Ding Media Company's revenue was impressive, expenses were also substantial.
The company had been expanding, investing heavily in Nine Ding News Agency, which increased administrative costs. Several large printing plants were also built, and new branches were established, requiring significant investment.
All these actions required massive funds.
Despite this, Nine Ding Media Company still had 25 million Hong Kong dollars in liquid assets.
The acquisition of *Nanyang Siang Pau* cost 12 million Hong Kong dollars, leaving 13 million Hong Kong dollars in liquid funds.
Although 13 million Hong Kong dollars seemed like a lot, it was still insufficient for the upcoming plans.
However, Nine Ding Media Company had matured and had strong revenue-generating capabilities. Xia Yu did not plan to inject additional funds.
He had decided to let Nine Ding Media Company obtain a bank loan. With Nine Ding Media Company's impressive financial data, it could easily secure a loan of several tens of millions from HSBC.
Xia Yu believed that if he requested a loan, Shen Bi would be very proactive. Nine Ding Media Company was a leader in the newspaper industry with excellent qualifications, making it an ideal candidate for a bank loan.
Moreover, as Nine Ding Media Company was under Xia Yu, Shen Bi had no concerns about Xia Yu's ability to repay.
After all, several hundred million Hong Kong dollars of Nine Ding Securities' funds were in HSBC accounts, including over 100 million Hong Kong dollars that were entirely Xia Yu's own funds!
Shen Bi could rest assured about lending the money.
However, the execution of the plan did not require such a large amount of funds. A loan of 10 to 20 million Hong Kong dollars would suffice for now. In two months, Nine Ding Media Company's self-generated revenue would be enough to recover.
"Very good, well done!"
After reading the report, Xia Yu smiled with satisfaction and praised Yan Wenhan.
"Thank you for the compliment, boss!"
Yan Wenhan humbly responded, but his smile revealed his genuine feelings.
"How are the other acquisition plans progressing?"
Xia Yu asked next.
The acquisition of *Nanyang Siang Pau* was just one part of the overall acquisition plan, with other acquisitions in progress simultaneously.
Now that *Nanyang Siang Pau* was successfully acquired, it was expected that the other acquisitions should be nearing completion as well.
"Boss, the acquisition of *Tian Tian Daily* is nearing completion. The price has been negotiated down to 2.2 million Hong Kong dollars. If it can't be lowered further by tomorrow, I will proceed with the purchase at this price."
Yan Wenhan reported.
*Tian Tian Daily* was the result of Yan Wenhan's careful selection.
*Tian Tian Daily* is a comprehensive daily newspaper in Hong Kong, targeting grassroots and youth audiences. It was founded in November 1960 by the Wei family brothers of the Second Heaven Pharmaceutical Company, with Wei Jishun handling the affairs.
Later, the Wei family's economic situation deteriorated. On August 3, 1977, it was acquired by Miao Li Group. Chairman Liu Tian invested 1.65 million Hong Kong dollars to acquire 75% of the shares and became the publisher. The remaining 25% belonged to General Manager Wei Jianbang.
However, Miao Li Group faced development difficulties. Liu Tian pledged the 75% shares to Golden City Bank to secure a loan for his group's operations.
Due to Liu Tian's commitments to Miao Li Group, *Tian Tian Daily*'s development fell into a rut after the acquisition, showing a downward trend.
Thus, the difficulty of acquiring *Tian Tian Daily* was not high. With a daily circulation of 20,000 copies, it already had a solid foundation. Once acquired, it could rapidly expand and was a very good acquisition target.
"Let's go with this price. There's no need to push further. A few thousand dollars won't make a difference. It's better to secure the acquisition quickly to avoid any potential leaks and unnecessary trouble."
Xia Yu frowned slightly and made the decision directly. He wasn't concerned about a few thousand dollars; securing *Tian Tian Daily* as soon as possible was what mattered.
After all, he knew that *Tian Tian Daily*, with a daily circulation of only 20,000 copies, had once developed into a major newspaper with a daily circulation of over 200,000 copies, becoming Hong Kong's third-largest newspaper.
However, its fate seemed turbulent, changing ownership multiple times, and was eventually acquired by Huang Yulang. Due to Huang Yulang's unorthodox methods, *Tian Tian Daily* became embroiled in a lawsuit and eventually ceased publication.
A newspaper with a daily circulation of over 200,000 copies had vanished like that.
But in this lifetime, with Xia Yu acquiring *Tian Tian Daily*, such a situation would not occur. Its future would be bright.
"Alright, I will go and sign the contract with them tomorrow."
Seeing the boss had made his decision, Yan Wenhan immediately nodded in agreement.
"What about the others?"