"I read today's briefing, what's going on with the Miami Herald, and what's the news from the Chicago Tribune?"

Andy took a sip of coffee, and after seeing that Al was alone in the conference room in the video window, he put down his coffee cup and asked.

Debt-ridden, newspaper giant McClatch Newspaper Group intends to sell its key member, The Miami Herald, and they have reached out to all interested buyers.

As for Tribune, based on the information we have gathered, they will file for bankruptcy protection at a later date, but this bankruptcy protection application should be aimed at restructuring the company's debts and will not affect the normal operation of its newspapers and television stations. ”

Al explained to Andy that he is very aware of the importance that his boss attaches to the media industry, don't look at the current paper media is very sad, layoffs, sales, bankruptcy, but the right to speak in these century-old newspapers cannot be ignored and underestimated.

Even if the market squeezed by the current Internet has shrunk, advertising revenue has plummeted, and survival is unsustainable, we have to admit that in the face of the Internet, where it is difficult to distinguish the true from the fake in various news and news, the credibility and influence of these brand newspapers are still the first choice for the public to choose to distinguish the truth.

The advantages of the Internet are undoubted, the speed of dissemination is fast, the information is abundant, and the most important thing is free, which is undoubtedly unrivaled by traditional paper media, but because of this, all kinds of information floods the network, making it difficult to distinguish between true and false, which is also the biggest problem of the Internet.

Al also knows that his boss is also reforming several newspapers in his hand, and the newspapers and periodicals that are issued do not compete with the Internet for the update speed of the news, but to interpret the news more deeply and help the people to distinguish and understand the real events, instead of just a few simple lines of words on the Internet to explain a piece of news, the speed is very fast, but it also makes the people who watch the news unclear.

Judging from the current operation of several newspapers, the reform is very successful, even if it is a loss, it is only a loss of several million dollars, for Andy, this kind of small money is still acceptable, after all, in the current economic environment, it is difficult not to lose money.

This is also why Andy dared to buy those high-quality brands of newspapers and periodicals when the traditional newspaper industry was sluggish and went downhill, not so much to buy newspapers, but to buy the credibility and influence that the people would instinctively believe.

In 2007, the forum company was acquired by the American real estate tycoon Samuel Zell with a total amount of 8.3 billion US dollars in the form of highly leveraged debt financial operations and employee stock subscription plans, and the standard empty gloves white wolf acquisition game, after the successful acquisition, all the loans were transferred to the forum company, and now the debt has exceeded 12 billion US dollars.

Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, downgraded Forum's debt rating to junk last month, saying the financial crisis would discourage the group from selling assets and limiting the amount of money it could raise.

Headquartered in Chicago, Forum Inc. has been around for 161 years and is the second-largest newspaper group in the United States by annual revenue and third-largest newspaper by total circulation. Its Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune ranked fourth and eighth in the U.S. in terms of sales, respectively.

Andy has been keeping an eye on the main purpose of Forum Corporation, which is to take a fancy to the "Los Angeles Times" in their hands, and if they want to become another Wasserman in Hollywood, the most influential newspaper in California, it is absolutely necessary to get their hands on it.

The Los Angeles Times has survived the precarious situation over the past year, reshuffling its editorial department twice, changing editorial directors and forcibly laying off staff, while its parent company's debt situation has not improved, and its advertising revenue and sales have plummeted.

Boss: If you're going to buy the Los Angeles Times, you're going to need to spend about $200 million to $400 million. Al introduced.

"Huh?" Andy frowned, looked at Al in disbelief and asked, "Why is the capital range so large?"

"Located in a prime corner of the city center, next to City Hall, the 80-year-old Los Angeles Times building was a key bargaining chip, and the main reason why I suggested that the boss consider the Miami Herald in my briefing was that the newspaper also had a headquarters building in a prime location on Biscayne Bay.

And for the $220 million Miami Herald, if real estate picks up in the future, this building alone can offset most of the acquisition funds spent. ”

Hearing Al's analysis, Andy also sighed with emotion, I have to say that this is a very sad thing, the newspaper industry is in a bleak situation, their physical office buildings are likely to be much higher than the value of the newspaper itself. And if the building happens to be in a middle-class upscale neighborhood, it can be worth twice as much.

The Los Angeles Times and the Miami Herald undoubtedly have valuable headquarters buildings that are now in the midst of a housing bubble burst in the United States, and their valuations are completely depressed.

Andy rubbed his chin and pondered that the Miami Herald, founded in 1903, is the second-largest newspaper in South Florida and has more than 800 employees and is distributed throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Its brand value is undoubted, to be honest, for the price of more than 200 million US dollars, Andy really didn't pay much attention to it, for him now, these are small money, just like a person with a huge amount of hundreds of dollars into the '2 yuan store' to buy something, will never care about spending 2 yuan.

What's more, it is great value for money, since Al thinks that the value of their headquarters building is very high, it must be a big bargain to be made, and Andy absolutely trusts Al as the chief thinker to judge.

"Well, let's send someone to negotiate with McLachee Newspaper Group, and I'll fly to Miami before November 6th, and then complete the deal, and by the way, I'll send someone to the Forum and tell them that I'm interested in the Los Angeles Times, and as an Angelene, I know very well that Californians want this newspaper to come back to the locals... ”

Al was expressionless, but the corners of his mouth were still unnaturally pulled, his boss really has any strange reason, boss, you seem to be a New Yorker, right?

"Okay, boss, I will arrange someone to contact the other party immediately, the Herald is not a big problem, the McClatch Group is really going to sell, eager to return the funds to get rid of the debt, but the Los Angeles Times may encounter some trouble, although Samuel Zell has messed up, but after all, he has just acquired the forum company, and he may not easily admit defeat. ”

"Then let out the news of my intention to buy the Los Angeles Times, let his creditors, force him to make a choice, I want to see if there is a chance to repay the money, but thinking about filing for bankruptcy protection, such as Barclays, MG Chase, these creditors will kindly wait for several years to help him get out of bankruptcy!"

Andy said very calmly about the possible troubles, for the forum company that owes a PIGU debt, there is no need to rush to beg for slaughter, and it is going to go bankrupt, and the most bitter thing is that the banks that lent money to Samuel in the first place, now there is an opportunity for the forum company to exchange the first interest, and they will definitely not let Samuel have a good time.

"Understood, boss. Al nodded and said, "Boss, when will Starbucks' acquisition plan start?"

"When I'm done with the French side, you can start here, just let General Electric dry first, don't they always think that they will eat me? Hehe, I'll transfer the acquisition target and see if they're in a hurry!" Andy sneered.

Al, who got a clear answer, nodded, he still admires some of the decisions of his big boss, he is patient, decisive enough, and will not be blinded by momentary gains and losses, which appears in a young man in his twenties, which is undoubtedly very surprising, beyond the maturity of his age.

Andy doesn't know what his most important subordinates think of him, and the only thing he has to do next is to spend all the money in his hands before the financial crisis is over, and exchange it for high-quality assets that will allow him to lie down and earn in the years to come!