Chương 523: Chapter 523: An Important Step for the King of World Media
The next day, Xia Yu arrived at Guangming Fund Ltd. located in London's financial district and saw a busy scene.
Amidst the respectful greetings of the employees, Xia Yu found George Berkeley.
Liu Xiao and the others had already left. George Berkeley had been leveraging his network to recruit people for Guangming Fund, and the framework for various departments had been established. Some departments had even begun to operate.
As a result, Liu Xiao and the others naturally withdrew to continue their research on the London financial market.
"Boss, you're here! Please, have a seat!"
George Berkeley bowed slightly and said to Xia Yu.
"Sit down too!"
After inviting George Berkeley to sit, Xia Yu asked, "How is the progress with the commercial intelligence you were tasked with gathering?"
"Boss, we've collected information from the major newspapers, but we're still gathering data from the minor newspapers. The data on Rolls-Royce is particularly challenging due to its involvement in national defense, so it's still being collected."
A hint of recollection flashed in George Berkeley's eyes as he spoke.
Xia Yu nodded slightly and said, "I understand. Just give me the information from the major newspapers."
"Okay! Please wait a moment!"
With that, George Berkeley stood up and left. About a minute later, he returned with a stack of documents.
"Boss, everything is here. Please take a look!"
Xia Yu took the documents and began to read them carefully.
The British newspaper industry is highly developed, with the oldest newspapers dating back several centuries. Over time, the British have grown accustomed to reading newspapers, and Britain is known as a kingdom of world media.
As a result, even as many countries' newspaper industries have declined in the internet era, the British newspaper industry, despite facing challenges, has managed to continue operating.
There are many major newspapers in the UK.
For example, The Times, founded on January 1, 1785, is the first mainstream British newspaper and is hailed as "a faithful recorder of British society." It is a newspaper that has a significant impact on global politics, economics, and culture.
If Xia Yu remembers correctly, in 1981, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation spent £22 million to acquire The Times.
Besides The Times, there is The Guardian, which has a liberal democratic stance and is influential among young people and intellectuals in Europe, with middle-class readers also favoring it. The Guardian is known for its love of life and peace.
The Independent, which does not publicly support any political party.
The Financial Times, the highest-end newspaper in the UK with significant influence on British politics and society, focuses on financial news.
The Daily Telegraph, which once led the British newspaper industry, has a national daily circulation of around 1.6 million copies and is read by the middle class. It is known for not having a clear political stance.
The Daily Mail, known for its serious approach, is popular among the middle class and has the highest proportion of female readers.
The Daily Express, which has concise and straightforward articles suitable for ordinary people and small intellectuals.
The Daily Mirror, a famous tabloid newspaper focused on entertainment, gossip, sports, and scandals, generally avoids political issues but enjoys mocking political figures and criticizing party policies.
And The Sun, known for its high sales among the lower and middle classes but notorious in upper-class circles.
It is worth mentioning that The Sun was acquired by Rupert Murdoch in 1969.
At that time, Rupert Murdoch understood the importance of "building high walls, accumulating grain, and claiming kingship," so even though he had become a media tycoon in Australia and had media holdings in the UK, the US, Canada, and other countries, he had not yet established the globally renowned News Corporation.
At this point, only Australian News Limited was publicly known.
These newspapers are major national newspapers in the UK, with circulation ranging from several hundred thousand to several million copies.
In this world, influence is an extremely important power. Those in power throughout history have known that it is a force that can impact regimes.
Xia Yu came to London with many ideas and goals. However, for a Chinese person to enter the local circle and make politicians and capitalists take him seriously, he needed something of significant value.
Because his plans heavily relied on British politics, he decided to enter the media industry.
As long as he holds a certain degree of influence, the competing political parties will reach out to him for help.
Of course, the premise is that his influence must be substantial.
Fortunately, due to Britain's former global colonization, with British descendants spread across the globe, the restrictions on foreign media in the UK are not as stringent as in the US.
Rupert Murdoch, an Australian citizen, was able to buy The Sun and later acquire The Times and Europe's largest Sky TV network, as the UK was still a British colony.
At that time, Hong Kong was also a British colony, and since Xia Yu was a Hong Kong resident, he was naturally considered a British citizen and eligible to buy newspapers. British laws could not restrict Xia Yu.
With demand, eligibility, and capital, Xia Yu naturally needed to carefully select acquisition targets.
After reviewing all the materials, Xia Yu thought for a long time and selected two documents: The Financial Times and The Daily Telegraph!
These two are the most suitable newspapers for him to acquire!
The Financial Times, established in 1888, is one of the best and most renowned business and financial newspapers in the world. Its global daily circulation is over 1.3 million copies, with 70% of its sales coming from abroad. In the future, The Financial Times will be acquired by the Nikkei Group for £844 million.
Although in the future, due to embracing the internet, most readers will shift to digital subscriptions, with paper subscriptions declining to hundreds of thousands, The Financial Times' electronic subscriptions will have around six to seven million readers.
At this time, before the advent of the internet, The Financial Times' daily circulation was still over one million copies.
The Financial Times Group is currently owned by Pearson Education Group, which holds a 71% stake.
Moreover, the Financial Times Group also owns a 50% stake in The Economist Group.
The Economist Group is the owner of The Economist, one of the world's four major financial magazines.
So if Xia Yu acquires The Financial Times, he can also acquire The Economist magazine, instantly creating the largest financial news company in the UK and becoming an influential force in financial news.
Eventually, with the Nine鼎 Daily and The Economist Weekly in Hong Kong, and The Financial Times and The Economist magazine in the UK, integrating these would establish a major regional media empire, which is quite exciting to think about.
Of course, acquiring The Financial Times is challenging, as its parent company, Pearson Education Group, is a dominant player in the UK's cultural media and education sector and one of the global leaders in these industries.
However, given the current economic environment in the UK, Pearson Education Group's situation is not great, and since Pearson is more focused on education, Xia Yu believes that if the price is right, Pearson might be willing to sell The Financial Times.
After all, Pearson Education Group is more like a stepmother to The Financial Times, having only acquired it a little over a decade ago. It is not impossible for a biased stepmother to sell a non-biological child to nurture her biological child.
In contrast, acquiring The Daily Telegraph would be easier.
At this time, The Daily Telegraph has a daily circulation of about 1.6 million copies, is distributed only within the UK, and has no distinct political stance, making it a valuable acquisition.
The Daily Telegraph has changed owners several times and is currently owned by Canadian Black, who bought it four years ago.
Black's purpose in acquiring The Daily Telegraph was clearly for profit.
Therefore, Xia Yu believes that it can be acquired with enough money.
For now, Xia Yu plans to acquire these two newspapers to establish a foundation and then compete with Rupert Murdoch for the title of the King of World Media.
He will leave The Times for later, as its acquisition difficulty is too high at the moment!
After making the decision, Xia Yu handed the two documents to George Berkeley and instructed, "George, do your best to acquire these two newspapers, and then acquire The Economist magazine as well."
Xia Yu paused for a moment, looked at him with burning eyes, and said firmly, "I don't care what methods you use. I just want results. I am allowing you to pay double the price if necessary!"
George Berkeley was startled and his expression became extremely serious. He felt the boss's determination and was surprised by the allowance to pay double the price.
But if he actually paid double the price, although the boss might not say anything, it would reflect poorly on his capabilities!
This was the first task assigned to him by the boss, and he had to show his abilities.
Therefore, George Berkeley felt a lot of pressure!
But he was not afraid; instead, a sense of ambition surged within him.
Isn't it better for the boss to have such grand ambitions? It would allow him to showcase his talents!
George Berkeley nodded heavily and promised, "Rest assured, boss. I will complete the task!"
Xia Yu nodded slightly and said again, "If there are any difficulties, you must inform me immediately. I look forward to your good news!"
"Yes!"
George Berkeley replied loudly.
He then took the materials and left to prepare the acquisition plan.
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