Chapter 535: £22.84 Million

In the following days, George Berkeley reported the latest acquisition progress to Xia Yu every day.

It turned out that, faced with the acquisition by the absolute major shareholder, the scattered minor shareholders wisely chose not to resist.

Thus, there was no need for the full five days. By the afternoon of the fourth day, January 24, the last minor shareholder sold their 2.4% stake.

With this, 100% of the Financial Times Group's shares were acquired by Xia Yu's Guangming Fund, at a total cost of £22.84 million!

During the negotiations between Pearson Group and Guangming Fund, news of the acquisition had already started to leak.

After completing the deal with Pearson Group, Guangming Fund's reputation began to rise, and some media outlets shifted their focus to Guangming Fund.

The full acquisition quickly made Guangming Fund a prominent name throughout the financial market. It caused a stir not only in the media industry but also in the financial sector.

This was due to the Financial Times Group's special status as the leading financial newspaper in the UK, and its ownership of 50% of The Economist, the top financial magazine in the UK, which had significant influence among the elite in the UK.

Its impact extended deeply into financial markets across various European countries!

Now that this company had changed hands, it was impossible for people not to take notice and investigate what this previously unheard-of Guangming Fund was all about.

However, Xia Yu had already arranged for the company to be offshore, so the visible representative was George Berkeley, and Xia Yu was merely one of George Berkeley's partners.

Although Xia Yu needed to reveal some information for political reasons, this information was only disclosed to those who needed to know and was strategically kept partially concealed to maintain mystery and deter others from taking any action.

It was not yet time for active disclosure; for now, keeping a low profile and presenting George Berkeley as the face of the company was sufficient.

Of course, if others were able to find out, that was their own skill!

As a result, George Berkeley, who had led the acquisition of the Financial Times Group, gained considerable fame in London, while Xia Yu's public profile remained relatively low.

...

Clyde Albert was the president of the Financial Times Group. As a professional manager, he was only 48 years old and in the prime of his career. Five years ago, he was recruited to the Financial Times Group as president, and the company had performed well under his leadership.

Recently, Clyde Albert had been diligently managing the company when news broke that the parent company, Pearson Group, was selling the company, causing widespread concern among the employees.

Clyde Albert had to go to the parent company to inquire about the situation, only to find out that by the time he arrived, the agreement had already been signed and finalized.

As a professional manager with strong adaptability, Clyde Albert accepted the reality. Under the new boss George Berkeley's instructions, he returned to the company to reassure the staff while waiting for further instructions from George Berkeley.

On the morning of January 25, he arrived at the Guangming Fund's office.

Seeing the sign, Clyde Albert straightened his clothes, took a deep breath, and entered Guangming Fund with a confident smile.

He was then led to an office by the staff and saw only two people in the room: one was the familiar George Berkeley, and the other was a young Asian man sitting in the main seat.

The unique situation surprised Clyde Albert, but he maintained his composure and did not show his surprise.

"Good day, gentlemen. I am Clyde Albert, the current CEO of the Financial Times Group."

After introducing himself, Clyde Albert stood with a smile, meeting Xia Yu's gaze.

Xia Yu made a gesture for him to sit: "Mr. Albert, please take a seat!"

"Thank you!"

Clyde Albert slightly bowed in thanks and then sat down on a chair, quietly waiting.

"I'll introduce myself first. My name is Xia Yu, and Guangming Fund is my company."

"The person next to me is George Berkeley, the president of Guangming Fund."

As Xia Yu introduced himself, George Berkeley smiled warmly at Clyde Albert.

"Hello, boss!"

"Hello, Mr. Berkeley!"

Hearing Xia Yu's introduction, Clyde Albert was shocked, realizing that Xia Yu, who was supposedly just a partner, was actually the owner of Guangming Fund.

"Alright, no need to be so formal. I don't want my identity to be public for now, so I had you come here today to discuss a few matters."

"Please give your instructions!"

"First, please provide detailed information about the company!"

"Certainly!"

"The company currently has 351 employees, including…"

As Clyde Albert detailed the Financial Times Group's information, Xia Yu received a comprehensive and accurate picture of the company, even more detailed than the information provided by the public accounting firms in the UK.

Unconsciously, as Clyde Albert spoke, Xia Yu's understanding of the company became complete, and a smile appeared on his face.

The Financial Times Group was indeed a great company. If not for Pearson Group's 90% focus on the education sector and Duke Carter Howard's intervention, Pearson Group might not have sold the Financial Times Group, despite its lack of direct benefit to Pearson Group's education business.

But what mattered was not the past but the present—the company was now in his hands.

After Clyde Albert finished speaking and took a sip of tea, he quietly awaited Xia Yu's instructions.

"Clyde, the company will remain as is. You've managed it well, so continue with your approach."

Hearing Xia Yu's words, Clyde Albert was visibly relieved and expressed his gratitude with a pleased smile: "Thank you for your trust, boss!"

"Due to certain special reasons, I won't be appearing in public. The employees are likely unsettled right now, so you need to stabilize the company quickly and eliminate any negative factors."

"Understood!"

"Next, let's discuss business matters. You may not know, but I own a newspaper company in Hong Kong, which has two daily newspapers with a circulation of over one million copies each and two weekly magazines with over one million copies each, all in the financial sector!"

After Xia Yu finished speaking, he looked at Clyde Albert.

Clyde Albert's eyes widened in disbelief.

However, upon seeing Xia Yu's calm expression, Clyde Albert suppressed his shock and focused intently.

It seemed the boss had a deep understanding of the media industry, so the forthcoming business discussions should not be taken lightly. He needed to approach them with seriousness!

Seeing Clyde Albert being effectively stunned, Xia Yu was satisfied with the result and finally got to the main topic.

"Clyde, as the leading financial newspaper in the UK, have you considered how to further enhance the authority and influence of the Financial Times in the financial industry?"