The birth of the Hong Kong Island family

Land is not only facing the eager gaze of the Cheung Kong Group, but it is also facing greater adversity than in its previous life.

The debt is as high as 20 billion, 10% higher than in the previous life, and the market value and net assets are 20% lower than the previous life.

In this case, a huge loss of more than 1.6 billion may occur in 1983.

As a result, HSBC has also been pressing for debt repayments.

Cheung Kong Group soon took Land to court, seeking huge compensation for the Miramar hotel project. The Miramar Hotel had a market value of HK$2.8 billion at its peak, but has now lost nearly half of its value. Therefore, the Cheung Kong Group’s demands are – a non-refundable reservation of NT$900 million, Land’s compensation of HK$500 million, and the return of the old Miramar Hotel wing to Cheung Kong Group. .

For a time, Land's situation worsened, and its stock price continued to fall; only a market value of about HK$5 billion remained, a two-thirds decrease from its peak.

However, at this time, it was reported in the market that Cheung Kong Group was acquiring Land, which quickly increased the market value of Land to about HK$6 billion.

Simon Keswick knew that Lin Zhichao was not threatening, but actually eyeing Land. After all, for a company with a cash flow of tens of billions, it would not be difficult to privatize Land at this time.

Therefore, he quickly contacted the Cheung Kong Department and expressed his willingness to negotiate on the Exchange Square and the Hong Kong Electric Light Company.

In this way, Cheung Kong Holdings Group was absorbing Land shares while Cheung Kong and Hutchison were negotiating with Land.

In fact, Lin Zhichao does not have to acquire land. After all, he is also worried about causing too much political impact - putting the entire British capital in Hong Kong into fear; this is detrimental to the development of Hong Kong, and Hong Kong must be a global metropolis. , rather than becoming an 'exclusive' city. Although he is not the governor of Hong Kong, he stands at the same height.

So, since he wanted to get the Exchange Square and the Hong Kong Electric Lighting Company, why didn't he just win them at the beginning?

The only reason is that the price is too high, so it is better to get it from Land at a discount now.

For example, if a takeover war broke out at Hong Kong Electric Company, the price would have been many times higher!

Lin Zhichao's request to the negotiators is that the Hong Kong Electric Lighting Company cannot offer more than HK$3 billion, and the Exchange Plaza cannot offer more than HK$6 billion (Landmark has already invested 1 billion in construction costs).

The discounts for both assets are in the range of 10 to 20%.

While negotiating, Cheung Kong Group was still 'secretly purchasing' Land shares in the market, putting tremendous pressure on Simon Keswick.

At the same time, whether intentionally or unintentionally, HSBC also "cooperated" with Cheung Kong Group and stepped up its debt collection against Land and Jardine.

At this time, Lin Zhichao and HSBC had already formed a competitive relationship. Therefore, HSBC's move was just to get Land to dispose of its assets as soon as possible and repay its debts.

In fact, HSBC has been forcing Land to pay back the money!

Early November.

Lin Zhichao came to the Golden Harvest Building in Kowloon. This is a building purchased by Golden Harvest Pictures earlier this year. It is now used as the administrative headquarters of Golden Harvest Pictures, and the remaining office buildings are for rent.

At this time, Golden Harvest Pictures owned a large number of properties, especially in Southeast Asia, and had purchased many of its own properties. At its peak, Golden Harvest Pictures had a market capitalization of over HK$1.5 billion and annual profits of just over HK$100 million.

However, in the past two years, with the decline of the stock market environment and the rise of New Art City, the market value of Golden Harvest Pictures has been reduced to less than half.

Golden Harvest Films' production profit this year (1983) is expected to be only HKD 20-30 million. Fortunately, there are also theater income and rental income, so the total profit totals HKD 60-70 million.

But it’s obvious that Jiahe Movies is going downhill!

meeting room.

Lin Zhichao, Lin Ruikai and the Jiahe management team held a meeting. Such meetings were rare. After all, Lin Zhichao usually left the affairs of Jiahe Pictures to Zou Wenhuai, Qiao Shan, He Guanchang and others.

"The media group plans to privatize Golden Harvest Pictures. You can continue to retain the shares held in your hands, and the profits will be divided according to the shareholding in the future. In addition, everyone's salary will remain unchanged. So the only difference in this privatization is that retail investors will The shares are being withdrawn. If you have any questions, you can ask them now!"

Everyone was surprised by Lin Zhichao's first words, but they quickly considered their own interests.

Zou Wenhuai was the first to stand up and support: "Jiahe Pictures has developed to this day and does not need a listing status, especially now that the market value is underestimated. I support the group's decision!"

Of course he had to support it. At the peak of 1981, his boss asked him to reduce his shareholding, and he did so, reducing his stake by 3% and making a profit of about HK$45 million. This year, his boss also asked him to increase his shareholding. He repurchased 2%, spending only more than 10 million Hong Kong dollars.

He still holds 6% of the shares, and more importantly, he still has an annual salary of HK$2 million.

Afterwards, He Guanchang, Qiao Shan, Liang Feng and others also quickly expressed their stance. Among them, Qiao Shan is a veteran of Lin Zhichao and also holds 1% of the shares, which is similar to He Guanchang. The rest of the people basically only hold a small amount of equity.

These senior executives currently hold about 10% of the total shares.

Lin Zhichao nodded and said: "Okay, everyone will keep it secret for now. The media group will issue the privatization process as soon as possible. You don't need to worry about your future and remuneration. Our cooperation will continue to be friendly."

Zou Wenhuai said with a smile: "Lin Sheng has always been very kind to everyone, including our management, directors, screenwriters, and actors. We all have money to work with, so everyone has a sense of belonging to Golden Harvest Pictures." Very strong.”

With the development of Golden Harvest Film Industry, property revenue now accounts for one-third, while production and theater chains each account for one-third. Distribution is negligible. Even if it distributes for other film companies, it will not make much money. .

The property and theater chains are almost all the work of the media group. This is the grand strategy formulated by Lin Zhichao.

Therefore, the management team led by Zou Wenhuai also understands this!

This time, Lin Zhichao proposed privatization, which was naturally driven by interests. The market value of Golden Harvest Films currently only has HK$620 million. Even if the premium is 30%, it will only be just over HK$800 million.

Even so, the P/E ratio is only 10 times. Moreover, Golden Harvest Pictures' profits will soon exceed hundreds of millions again, so it is very cost-effective.

After privatizing Jiahe, the next step is to strengthen the media group's control over its four major businesses, and eventually form a huge kingdom.

As for whether the media group will be listed in the future, there is a high probability that it will not be needed. After all, there is no shortage of money.

Take this year as an example: the publishing business (comic) profit will exceed 100 million, the newspaper industry will also have more than 60 million, Jiahe will have less than 80 million, and ATV is expected to lose 50 million (the ratings have increased, but the cost of expenses has increased significantly, so it has been continuously It has lost more than 50 million yuan in three years, but it is expected to make a small profit in 1984).

After the meeting.

Lin Zhichao and Zou Wenhuai came to the office, and soon Xu Ke and Wu Yusen walked in.

"Lin Sheng, Zou Sheng"

"Come and sit down, both of you"

Then, the four of them sat on the sofa.

Lin Zhichao looked at John Woo. Since last year, he personally intervened and allowed John Woo to decide on the shooting subject. He also shot the gunfight film at the suggestion of Golden Harvest.

Now, it is beginning to take shape.

"Jiahe Film wants to make a movie full of violent aesthetics. This is the outline of the movie. You two can take a look. What we mean is that this movie will be shot by Yu Sen, and Xu Ke will produce and direct it." Zou Wenhuai Pushed out a piece of information and spoke.

This is the outline of "A Better Tomorrow" written by Lin Zhichao, and it even contains descriptions of some classic scenes. As the head of a media group, there is nothing wrong with his understanding. What's more, I rarely participate in Jiahe Films' movies, and I can't do more than one palm at the moment.

Of course, he also participates in some guidance-related projects, which are quite common. For example, he suggested that Jack should make humorous martial arts films.

Soon after Xu Ke finished watching it, he said: "This movie is very good. No wonder Lin Sheng values ​​it so much and even talks to us in person!"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "In the past two years, New Art City has been very powerful. I am also worried about losing money, so I have to come and see more! Haha!"

Everyone knows that Lin Zhichao is completely joking. Not to mention that Golden Harvest has three or four films in the top ten every year, which are on par with New Art City. Even Golden Harvest's theater chain and property income are not afraid of the decline in production profits. What's more, this boss has many industries, and Jiahe is just a medium-sized company in his hands.

Xu Ke also smiled and said: "This year I asked Jiahe Films to accompany me with the money, and I have to do whatever it takes to make this movie a good one!"

Lin Zhichao waved his hand and didn't care!

He knew clearly that "New Shushan Swordsman" would lose money, but he did not stop Golden Harvest Films from investing a huge sum of 20 million Hong Kong dollars. As a result, the box office in Hong Kong was 16 million, plus more than 6 million in Taiwan. It was a serious loss-making movie (less than 8 million). loss).

Because this is a horse-bone purchase with thousands of dollars, not supporting Xu Ke's filming means that he may leave New Art City.

Next, the four people communicated about the script of "A Better Tomorrow", and soon everyone discovered that Lin Zhichao's screenwriting ability was very good, and he knew many details of the movie at his fingertips. Everyone couldn't help but admire that this boss is really all-round. In the previous two films of Swordsman, the boss personally participated in some of them. At that time, everyone thought that Lin Zhichao was also a martial arts fan. Now it seems that other people's business skills are also very good.

No wonder, ATV is now on the rise (50-50 with TVB). It seems that this boss is really almighty!

At this time, Lin Zhichao was very interested in discussing "A Better Tomorrow" and said, "I have been waiting for three years for an opportunity. I want to take a breath, not to prove that I am great; I want to tell others what I have lost." Must take it back! ’ Such classic lines, as well as subtle plots such as Ma Ge holding a toothpick in his mouth, were all brought out.

For a long time, everyone was very satisfied with this movie.

Wu Yusen asked: "Who is the protagonist of this movie?"

Lin Zhichao said: "Of course it's Ma! We have signed a contract with Chow Yun-fat, so he will star in this movie. In addition, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung are the other two starring roles."

Golden Harvest Films directly signed a contract with Chow Yun-fat for seven films, with a total value of 2.8 million. Although Chow Yun-fat was the leading actor on the silver screen at this time, his performance in movies has always been mediocre, so his net worth is not high. If seven dramas were not considered too long, one could be signed for HK$300,000.

Xu Ke and Wu Yusen said no more. They knew that this was the decision of Lin Zhichao and Zou Wenhuai, and they could not interfere. At this time, both of them were in a downturn. Xu Ke had just made Jiahe lose 8 million, and John Woo was still a lackluster director.

After the two left.

Zou Wenhuai said: "Boss, if Chow Yun-fat can really rise this time, you, the great leader in Hong Kong film history, will add another achievement!"

Lin Zhichao smiled and said: "We'll see!"

This can be regarded as a secret between the two people, because everyone from Bruce Lee, Xu Guanwen, Sammo Hung, Cheng Long and others are appreciated by Lin Zhichao, and they are famous all over Asia.

Now that Chow Yun-fat has been signed for seven movies, Chow Wenhuai knows that the boss wants to create a new "box office king".

And when Lin Zhichao snatched Chow Yun-fat over, he also wanted to kill Xinyi City's prestige.

Next, Lin Zhichao took out another script outline and handed it to Zou Wenhuai.

He said: "This script outline is called "Thieves". I want to film it to compete with the "Best Partner" series. Let Xu Ke give it a try! "Best Partner" is not a two-person team. This time Let’s create a five-person team of thieves alliance.”

Zou Wenhuai picked up the outline of the script and looked at it in surprise. After a long while he said: "This is a blockbuster movie. According to the description above, there are big stunts and many dangerous moves."

Lin Zhichao said: "Then start filming slowly! "Best Partner" has become the signature of New Art City. Now, in addition to "A Better Tomorrow", we will also bring out "Thieves" to completely overwhelm New Art City's prestige. "

Of course, Golden Harvest is still supported by people like Jack Cheng and Fatty Hong. Unlike Shaw Brothers, it is difficult for even one or two movies to enter the top ten every year.

"Okay, I understand what the boss means!"

At this time, Zou Wenhuai had already been completely impressed by Lin Zhichao's filmmaking skills and talents. This was one of the reasons why he did not dare to leave Jiahe and become independent. After all, facing such an opponent, his expertise may not be enough to win.

Lin Zhichao left Jiahe Building with satisfaction. If Jiahe Movies was overshadowed by New Art City in the 1980s, it would be like swollen Lin Zhichao's face. At least he still has the memory of classic movies.

At present, he has already snatched up two parts of "Swordsman" from New Art City, but will not shoot the third one; he will also take over "A Better Tomorrow" from New Art City, and film "Thieves" from South Korea.

He didn't believe that Jiahe couldn't overwhelm Xinyi City, not to mention that Lin Zhichao might think of something and interfere again later.

After leaving Jiahe, Lin Zhichao came to the ATV Building on Broadcasting Road, Kowloon.

He first listened to Zhou Liangshuyi's work report. With the support of serious dramas and mythological dramas such as "Bao Qingtian" and "The Legend of White Snake", ATV has surpassed TVB in drama series. In terms of variety shows, there are also "Prize Doorman" and "Comedian Save the Earth" (both hosted by Eric Tsang) to compete with TVB's incomplete version of "Happy Tonight" (with major artists poached); in terms of music, ATV also created "Music Bank" 》This kind of program cultivates your own singers.

In short, there is no problem with the ratings being 50-50!

"At present, there are many more advertisers, costs have begun to decrease, and copyright income has also increased, so we will definitely be profitable next year!" Zhou Liangshuyi finally said with certainty.

The copyright of "Bao Qingtian" has been purchased by Taiwan and the Mainland, which can be regarded as copyright income.

"Well, continue to innovate and strive to stabilize the results we have achieved!"

"OK"

At this time, Lin Zhichao did not immediately contribute Hong Kong variety shows, Hong Kong TV series, Hong Kong music and other creative ideas. He needed ATV to stabilize and TVB to be open 50% first.

It is expected that from the mid-1980s, Lin Zhichao will fully build the "Hong Kong culture" created by him!