Three days before the High Court pronounced the verdict, Gu Chen suddenly withdrew the indictment against Ni Zhen, and everyone was surprised by this, could it be that Gu Chen suddenly showed mercy and let Ni Zhen go? But if you think about it carefully, it seems unlikely, judging from Gu Chen's huge compensation of 100 million US dollars, it shouldn't be so anticlimactic, there must be some reason for it, but what reason can make Gu Chen let go of Ni Zhen, who can be said to have a 'deep hatred' with him? Just when many paparazzi in Hong Kong are looking for answers but to no avail.

Huang Zhan, who has always liked to shoot guns, once again took the initiative to break the news to the media that Jin Yong personally came forward to intercede for Ni Zhen, and Gu Chen agreed to open the net. After this revelation was reported by the media, everyone suddenly realized that it was Ni Hao who invited Jin Yong, and with Jin Yong's influence in Hong Kong, it was not surprising that Gu Chen sold him face. But then everyone couldn't help but feel sad for "Entertainment New Weekly".

Ni Duo can invite a character like Jin Yong to intercede because the two have been friends for decades, and it is said that some of Jin Yong's "Tianlong Babu" was written by Ni Duo, which shows the relationship between the two. But "Entertainment New Weekly" does not have such great energy, and judging from the current situation of all parties, it is almost certain that "Entertainment New Weekly" will lose the lawsuit, and it is nothing to publish a report and apologize, at most it will lose a little reputation. But the compensation of up to $100 million is enough to kill, and dozens of "Entertainment New Weekly" add up to more than this price.

On March 20, the Hong Kong High Court pronounced a judgment on Gu Chen's lawsuit against Entertainment New Weekly for defamation infringement, ordering Entertainment New Weekly to publish an apology statement in Hong Kong's Ming Pao, Oriental Daily, Wen Wei Po and Sing Tao Daily at the same time, and to compensate the victim Gu Chen with $50 million in damages for reputation. Suddenly, Hong Kong was lively again. At the same time, the verdict made headlines in newspapers around Hong Kong and around the world, and the focus of attention and discussion was the $50 million in reputational damages in the verdict, although the court did not fully enforce Gu Chen's request. But $50 million is enough to be called astronomical.

So much so that even the Washington Post exclaimed that this was definitely the largest single award for reputational damage so far this century.

According to the reporter who was listening in the courtroom, the boss of "Entertainment New Weekly", who appeared in court to listen to the verdict, softened in court after the judge read out the verdict. Of course, this is only the first-instance verdict, and the case has not yet reached the time to close the coffin. Within the next 10 days, Entertainment New Weekly has the right to decide whether to appeal.

Although Entertainment New Weekly has not yet been sentenced to 'death', even if it is appealed. It is estimated that the amount of compensation will not drop much, so the collapse of "Entertainment New Weekly" is certain, and I am afraid that the owner of the newspaper will also be forced by the court to be forced by the court and imprisoned because he has no money to compensate.

Seeing such a tragic ending of "Entertainment New Weekly", there are people who gloat. There are those who fall into the well. There is also compassion and mercy. In the eyes of some, Entertainment New Weekly just published a somewhat heated report, because it would have led to the bankruptcy of the newspaper and the imprisonment of the boss. In this way, who will dare to report Gu Chen's news casually in the future, this is a typical psychology of a rabbit dying and a fox being sad.

At this time, it was reported that Gu Chen acquired 25% of the shares of the "Ming Pao" Group, becoming the largest shareholder of the group except for Jin Yong, and serving as the executive vice chairman of the board of directors of the group. It is important to know that although Ming Pao was not founded for the longest time, due to the rapid growth of Kim Yong's relationship, it is now one of the most influential newspapers in Hong Kong. Sales have always ranked in the top three, and now Gu Chen's appointment as executive vice chairman of the board of directors of Ming Pao is tantamount to mastering one of the biggest public opinion tools in Hong Kong. The other newspapers immediately felt the pressure.

However, for Gu Chen, entering the board of directors of "Ming Pao" is only the first step, before signing the equity transfer agreement, he and Jin Yong had a verbal agreement, in the future, Jin Yong will gradually transfer his own "Ming Pao" group equity to him, he is still very confident in Jin Yong's credit, it is because of this verbal agreement that he will agree to only acquire 25% of the shares of "Ming Pao" group.

After the agreement was signed, Tang Dynasty Holdings sent a working group to Houston to negotiate with Liang Qiwen, president of the Texas branch of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce, about the acquisition of the Herald Leader, a newspaper under his name. Since the two parties reached a preliminary intention on the acquisition during the phone call, the negotiation process went relatively smoothly, but there were differences in the proportion of the acquisition, and Tang Dynasty Holdings hoped to acquire it as a wholly-owned company, and then inject capital into the Herald Leader to achieve the purpose of the Herald Leader's rapid expansion of business. But Liang Qiwen only agreed to sell up to 60% of the shares, after all, the "Herald Leader" was created by his hard work, and he was really reluctant to sell it like this.

In addition, once Tang Dynasty Holdings became the owner of the "Herald Leader", it is completely conceivable that the "Herald Leader" will usher in a period of rapid development, and how can he give up such obvious interests. After several rounds of negotiations, the two sides took a step back, with Tang Dynasty Holdings acquiring 85% of the Herald Leader's shares, and Leung Kai-man holding the remaining 15% of the shares and continuing to serve as the newspaper's president.

Under the terms of the agreement, Standard Chartered provided the newspaper with a low-interest loan of $70 million, which would be sufficient to meet the Herald's expansion in North America over the next few years. As for Liang Qiwen's ability, Gu Chen still believes that a Hong Kong person who came to the United States with his bare hands can create today's huge industry in the fiercely competitive United States in more than ten years, in addition to relying on the traditional spirit of Chinese people to bear hardships and stand hard work, more importantly, because of his personal ability, otherwise others will not be able to do anything.

When receiving the news from the United States, Gu Chen was playing golf with Li Jiacheng, because Gu Chen did not shy away from Li Jiacheng, so Li Jiacheng listened to all the content of Guo Yunxi's report, and after Guo Yunxi left, he waved his club lightly and said with a smile: "I didn't expect Gu Sheng's movements to be so fast, just a few days after entering the board of directors of "Ming Pao", he acquired a newspaper in the United States. ”

"If you add Asia TV, Gu Sheng's layout in the media industry is already obvious, it seems that you are very interested in public opinion."

"Hehe, it is very reasonable for the media to be called the uncrowned king, to put it mildly, they can say that the black is white, and the dead are alive, whoever controls public opinion has the initiative, and sometimes the offensive of public opinion is more useful than any sharp spear and cannon."

Gu Chen handed the club in his hand to the caddy, and Li Jiacheng boarded the electric car and drove towards the next hole, where he continued the topic that had just been interrupted: "Regarding the joint fund with Huo Zhenhuan as the president, as long as you and Mr. Li Zhaoji agree, I don't have any opinion. ”

After a period of preparation, the funds of Fok Yingdong, Li Jiacheng and Lee Zhaoji have all been put in place, and the fund named "United" has also reached the final stage of formation. At this time, the president of the fund naturally became the focus of discussion among the four people, and it was obvious that Huo Yingdong recommended his second son Huo Zhenhuan to serve as the president, and got Li Jiacheng's consent, and then asked Li Jiacheng to be a lobbyist.

In fact, Gu Chen didn't care about the position of president, and he agreed to join the joint fund entirely because of the face of Fok Yingdong, Li Jiacheng and Li Zhaoji. 2.5 billion Hong Kong dollars may be all their net worth for other rich people, but for Gu Chenlai, it is just a drop in the bucket, not that he doesn't care, but that he feels that there is no need to contradict Huo Yingdong and others for the position of president.

Moreover, he did not expect much wealth from the joint fund, and he saw the joint fund as a bond that brought the four of them closer.

"Hehe, Gu Sheng is really a cheerful person, you can rest assured, Zhenhuan was raised by me, I still know his personality and ability, and I will definitely be able to take care of the joint fund." Seeing that Gu Chen agreed happily, Li Jiacheng happily made a guarantee, and then said: "In addition, I met with Brother Huo and Brother Li the day before yesterday, and we all agreed that it was most suitable for you to serve as the chairman of the board of directors of the joint fund. ”

"Mr. Li said with a smile, with you three old-timers, where can I be the chairman." Gu Chen resigned with a smile, the four of them all accounted for 25% of the shares in the joint fund, and the voter turnout was the same, so this so-called chairman was just a false name, he even gave up the position of president, how could he care about a chairman who had a false name. Besides, he doesn't need such a false name to show his identity now.

"This has nothing to do with the seniors who are not the predecessors, and it has more than enough to do with Gu Sheng's current strength and status as the chairman." In the future, there will be more places where Gu Chen will be used in the official operation of the fund, Huo Yingdong and the three of them naturally hope that Gu Chen will serve as the chairman, although it is only a fictitious position, but it is also the chairman, as the so-called in his position, he will seek his own government, and when there is anything Gu Chen must do more to do it.

"I think so, Mr. Lee Siu Kee is the chairman of the board of directors, Mr. Li has always been good at stock market investment, and it is very suitable to have him as the chairman of the board of directors." Gu Chen suddenly changed his words and pointed that Li Zhaoji, who should be the weakest of the four, served as the chairman of the board of directors, and Li Jiacheng couldn't say anything at this time, so he groaned and said: "I don't have an opinion on Gu Sheng's proposal to let Brother Zhaoji serve as the chairman of the board of directors, but we still need to meet to formalize this matter, I wonder if Gu Sheng has time at night?" ”

Gu Chen said teasingly, "Yes, the location is set at Tan Jiaxuan, a few new dishes have just been launched, you must not have tasted them yet." ”

Hearing this, Li Jiacheng suddenly laughed: "Then I really have to try it, anyway, with you, the boss, I have a treat, and it's not too late to eat in vain." (To be continued......)