Rebirth of the Tech Madman

...

US Eastern Time, March 30, 1998. At 3:20 in the morning, a very eye-catching headline appeared on the website of the Dow Jones News Agency-it is reported that Time Warner Turner will merge with AOL.

Two minutes later, two other headlines followed-"AOL's Steve Case will be the chairman of the new company's board of directors"; "Time Warner Turner's Gerald Levine will be the new company." Chief Executive Officer".

The European branch of the American National Broadcasting Corporation picked up the report almost immediately; the Boppen News Agency also reported it 22 minutes later.

Nearly 4 in the morning, Peter Gabel added the report content to the headline, and the article appeared on the websites of the Dow Jones News Agency and the Wall Street Journal at the same time.

In addition to determining the title, it also added that AOL shareholders will hold a majority of shares in the new company after the merger.

Although the more specific situation is still unclear, it is certain that even if AOL’s market value is approximately twice that of Time Warner Turner, the conditions for acquisition cannot overvalue AOL. After the merger, the new company accounted for The share ratio is just over 50%.

Fortunately, everyone will not be confused for too long-a few hours later, Time Warner Turner and AOL will officially announce the merger of the two companies, and I believe that more detailed information will be disclosed by then.

...

The current Internet wave era is a very special period of fanaticism.

For example, on the one hand, many traditional large media companies are working hard to explore ways to truly control the Internet as a tool; on the other hand, Internet companies are also constantly seeking to move entertainment and other content to their websites to attract more users. customer.

There is no doubt that among the numerous companies, AOL is the best and most successful Internet company, so much so that many other companies are secretly learning their routines that are recognized by the market.

Under this circumstance, the merger of a pivotal media company and a leading Internet company will inevitably have a significant impact.

This is not only limited to the high stock prices of the two companies, but also the threat to other competitors in the industry after the strong alliance, inevitably triggering a major change in the landscape.

Therefore, it is not difficult to imagine that when the entire United States wakes up from the morning of Monday, March 30, everyone will be born with the crazy news that an Internet media entertainment giant worth more than $300 billion will be born. Shocked!

In this extremely shocking group, including AOL and Time Warner Turner employees-after all, most people are at the grassroots level of information asymmetry.

As for the reaction, there are nothing more than two categories-AOL is extremely excited, and Time Warner Turner is slightly lost.

Henry Luce III, the son of Henry Luce, the founder of Time Magazine, was also the one who realized afterwards.

On the way to Manhattan, Henry Luce III received a call on his mobile phone, only to realize that the company his father founded in the 1920s was going to be bought by a rookie Internet star.

For him, this news is the same as the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy and the exploding of the Challenger aircraft to pieces.

But this is the reality, Henry Luce III is not even qualified to point fingers!

Wall Street was also shocked—perhaps it sensed a slight turmoil, but such so-called omens are countless every day, and only when the dust settles can they have real value.

When the London stock market opened first, the stocks of Time Warner Turner and AOL rose sharply; the same was true when the New York stock market opened.

But whether it is shocked by the news or sought after by the stock market, in the final analysis, it depends on whether the two protagonists, Time Warner Turner and AOL, will officially announce the merger.

...

The time came to 10 o'clock in the morning. The official press conference of "The First Global Media Communication Company Facing the Internet Century" was held in the AXA Justice Center, which is connected to the Rockefeller Center by a channel.

There is a multi-functional auditorium that can accommodate nearly 500 people, which can conveniently hold various events including product launches, company meetings, live TV, broadcasting, and awards ceremonies-the previous merger of Time Group and Warner Media, Time The merger of Warner and Turner Broadcasting Corporation was also officially announced here.

The media reporters who were notified filled the auditorium with laptops; photographers squeezed to find the best place to take clear pictures.

The atmosphere of this press conference was not the solemn entanglement of rigorous financial issues as imagined, but rather closer to a well-planned lively awards ceremony.

Gerrard Levine, Richard Parsons, Steve Case, Robert Pittman, Michael Kelly, Ted Turner, Tang Huan... Wait, let’s promote this merger All the participants came to the stage.

Of course, the protagonists standing in the middle are AOL Time Warner Turner Chairman Steve Case and CEO Gerald Levine.

Many details of this press conference are very interesting-for example, in terms of dress, Internet rookie Steve Case wore a conservative black suit, and Gerald Levine wore a very recognizable Silicon Valley. Suit-a rumpled khaki uniform and an open-necked shirt.

Just in time for that sentence-life is like a play!

The most ironic thing is that two hours before the Time Warner Turner board of directors voted, Gerald Levine and Steve Case, who almost fell apart because of a dispute over the distribution of power, behaved intimately at this time. ——In the reflector lamp, and the flashing spotlight, hug each other excitedly.

At this time, the two men explained to the crowd together in a tacit understanding that this is an equal merger and acquisition, and the cooperation between the two parties is also a match made in heaven, a love that matches fate.

Steve Case said repeatedly: "Gerard Levine and I have always been good friends in the past."

Gerald Levine was proud of his face, and responded approvingly: “Friends of the journalists can look at the body language here, and the interactive relationship that we already have-we have long since become a family with excitement and hugs. the company."

Of course, it is impossible for Gerald Levine and Steve Case to sing duo at the scene, and other people sitting on a row of wooden canvas chairs must also express their opinions in cooperation.

Ted Turner, who made it clear that he fully supports this merger, brazenly brags: "I was honoured to sign the final voting paper when it was almost 9 o'clock last night."

"You know, this vote almost means that I own 100 million shares. The passion and enthusiasm when I do this is almost the same as when I first loved it more than 40 years ago, maybe more than then."

Ted Turner is done endlessly, and the richest man must also blow a few cowhide along with the crowd!

"I still have that point of view-just as Henry Luce, the founder of the era, once said-the 20th century is the century of the United States; and the next century is the century of the Internet! Work, entertainment, socializing, shopping... …And so on, with the ubiquitous Internet, new applications will evolve."

Speaking of this, Tang Huan emphasized his tone: "Even everyone who is a network terminal can become an information publisher, and then a new form corresponding to traditional media-we_media, that is, self-media."

"For example, AOL will soon adopt a technology research and development result of Philosopher Software, and launch a service called'blog'-'blog', so that every Internet user can experience that he is information publishing. By."

"Therefore, at the dawn of the new millennium, all companies, large and small, must undergo digital and networked transformation; otherwise, they will face cruel demise."

"Under this situation, Time Warner Turner is clearly very forward-looking and has come to the forefront of the industry."

"This is a great historical turning point! I am honored to be one of the witnesses like everyone else."

...

With Ted Turner's "Pearls and Jade in the Front", Tang Huan's statement, although deafening, is inevitably a bit "vegetarian".

So the reporter dug up: "We all know that Ted Turner was the largest individual shareholder of Time Warner Turner before, and you were the largest individual shareholder of AOL; then, now this new AOL Time Warner Turner Here, who is the biggest individual shareholder?"

The richest man answered calmly: "It's me!"

Another reporter asked: "We noticed that AOL Time Warner Turner spans the three major areas of media, entertainment, and the Internet; and your Yanle Entertainment Group owns the three major Hollywood areas of Lianmei, MGM, and Twentieth Century Fox. Brand-As an important shareholder of the two companies, how will you handle the conflict of interest in the entertainment industry between them?"

"I don't think that Yanle Entertainment Group and AOL Time Warner Turner have conflicts of interest." Tang Huan smiled faintly. "You should also know that Yanle Entertainment Group owns Lianmei, MGM, and 20th Century Fox. In addition to the three major Hollywood brands, there are Golden State Warriors, Oakland Raiders, and Oakland Athletics in the sports field; ea in the video game field; Hasbro in the toy field."

"This investment strategy shows that Yanle Entertainment Group is committed to providing a full range of entertainment content, and has been unremittingly exploring digitization and networking over the years, and is confident that it occupies a unique advantage."

"As a shareholder of Yanle Entertainment Group and AOL Time Warner Turner, I will continue to promote the complementary advantages between them-just like the content cooperation with Turner Broadcasting Corporation and AOL before."

The other party continued to ask without giving up: "Is it possible that in the future there will be mergers and acquisitions between AOL Time Warner Turner and Yanle Entertainment Group?"

"The world is unpredictable, and I cannot give you a definite answer-as you can imagine, will the Internet develop so rapidly in just a few years?" The richest man shrugged, "However, Yanle Entertainment Group has its own development. Strategy. Recently, we are also talking about an acquisition."

A beautiful female reporter, using her own advantages, curiously asked the bottom line: "So, can Tang reveal the content of this acquisition by Yanle Entertainment Group? For example, the amount of acquisition."

"Sorry, I can't disclose too much information in advance. But ladies always make exceptions..." Tang Huan pointed to the eye-catching banners and nameplates on the spot, "The purchase amount is definitely not comparable to AOL Time Warner Turner, that is, More than 10 billion U.S. dollars."

The beautiful female reporter covered her mouth with her hands, making her face pale. Ted Turner, who was looking aside, laughed with no respect for her manners, "Tang, I thought you would be led by them to digress!" "

...

The richest man has finished talking about the mountains, and once again it is the turn of AOL Time Warner Turner CEO Gerald Levine to point the country vigorously.

Facing the sharp question of "How can Time Warner Turner accept AOL stocks as legal currency", Gerald Levine replied confidently: "I accept market capital in cyberspace because I believe that it is right now. Significant and important things are happening. Most people may not be easy to accept these values; but in fact, for me, it’s really simple—this is a way of thinking that the current future flow of money is very valuable. Important belief; this is how you defend it! Use the future to defend the future ~ www.wuxiaspot.com ~ The value of the stock market of new media is real, and the value of AOL is also real..."

Seemingly realizing that his words are a bit clouded and obscure, Gerald Levin waved his hand to Tang Huan who was sitting on the very side deliberately and low-key, "Now I can prove this-"Forbes Global Rich List" "Isn’t it just refreshing Tang’s net worth to more than 200 billion U.S. dollars? Looking at the data analysis in detail, it is not difficult to understand the real value of the network."

...

In the past, major mainstream media began to officially report-"the first global media communication company facing the Internet Century"-AOL Time Warner Turner, worth more than 300 billion US dollars, was born!

Among the newspapers, even the traditionally conservative "New York Times" adopted a headline headline with a total of 3 lines and a height of 12.7 cm.

"AOL agreed to buy Time Warner Turner for $165 billion."

"This media acquisition is the richest acquisition."

"The world's richest man, Tang, became the largest individual shareholder of AOL Time Warner Turner."

"The New York Times" even rarely used a more exaggerated rendering method-using a single page, under the eye-catching title of "You are going to merge", published three photos containing four characters.

The picture in the center is Gerald Levine and Steve Case, who are as happy as a couple;

The photo at the bottom left is Ted Turner who made the metaphor of "better than life~sex";

The photo at the bottom right is Tang Huan, who made the argument that "the next century will be the century of the Internet". The meaning of "you have to live your life well" is so profound that it will come out through the paper.