"In order to continue to expand." Claude gave the answer without hesitation. "Although you always say that we should focus on new media, and in fact, we do gain a lot from new media, it doesn't mean that we have to completely abandon the traditional media, even if they are about to disappear. What do you think about buying The New York Times?"
"Buying The New York Times? Is it necessary? "Adriaan, who had his hands crossed together, was noncommittal.
"I'm just giving an example." Claude waved his hand and said, "But we can't completely rely on others in traditional media channels. We have to have our own, which may come in handy when necessary. It just so happens that they also want to enter the new media industry, so we need to use the listing to attract more investors with more weight and rope in more people. AC Media still has a lot of room for growth, and the shareholders will be happy to see this. "
He handed a document in his hand to Adriaan and said, "I have talked to people from Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, and we have reached an intention to cooperate. They are already preparing."
"Talked about it?" Adriaan finally couldn't sit still. He took it and flipped through a few pages. He then raised his head and frowned. "Why didn't I know?"
Claude blinked and didn't seem to understand. "I told you before, just a few weeks ago, I wanted to talk to you about something, but because it was only a preliminary idea, it was temporarily postponed."
"This doesn't seem like a preliminary idea." Adriaan waved the document in his hand.
"Yes, but after that, I sent you all the information, and you signed it." Claude spread his hands and looked at him strangely. He seemed to notice that Zhang Zian was a little different.
Adrian opened his mouth but did not say anything. His face was a little pale. During this period of time, there was the Oscars, the new movie, and the visit to the mainland. A lot of things were hastily seen and then handed over to Ivanka to deal with.
"I don't agree, Krau," Adriaan finally said.
"Why?" Claude was surprised.
"Because …" Adriaan pursed his lips and took a deep breath. "Didn't you notice, Krau? The situation of Fannie and Freddie is not very stable. Since last year, there have been cases of people not being able to pay off their mortgages, and the banks still make losses after auctioning off their mortgages."
"Really?" Claude looked at him suspiciously, then carefully recalled, "Alright, I do remember such a thing, but it's not common, is it?"
"If it's already common, then the entire investment environment will deteriorate." Adriaan immediately said, "I remember talking to Yini about this before. I heard that the situation isn't very optimistic."
"Really?" Claude narrowed his eyes. "I've talked to Donald about this, but he didn't say anything like that. He admitted that there are some problems, but they'll get better soon."
"But I heard that … New Century Financial Company has declared bankruptcy." Adriaan's face turned even uglier as he racked his brains.
"That loan company established in 1995? That's normal. " Claude waved his hand. "It's completely based on loans, and subprime loans at that. It's difficult for it to withstand big waves, especially in the financial sector. You should understand this. I admit that the financial market this year is more volatile than before, but it won't affect us. "
Adriaan couldn't help but cover his forehead. After a moment of silence, he said in a firm tone, "I still maintain my opinion."
"Why?" Claude finally frowned. "We're just splitting up and going public. The core business is retained, and the impact on the equity isn't very big. You don't have to worry about it."
"I'm not worried about that." Adriaan couldn't help but raise his voice. "You know me, Krau. If it's really necessary, I'm not against the group going public at all. I'm just worried that this fluctuation will expand and become more and more intense! I have a bad feeling that this fluctuation won't end so easily. "
"Really? When did you become an expert in finance? " Claude wanted to say this in a half-joking tone, but his eyebrows were raised so high that it looked more like he was being sarcastic.
"You don't believe me?" Adriaan took a deep breath, and a trace of annoyance flashed in his eyes. "Why? You also admit that my predictions have always been accurate. "
"That's right, but that's more or less based on facts." Claude's tone also became a little unhappy. "Now you're telling me that the fluctuation of the subprime mortgage market may expand. Fine, I admit that there is a certain probability, but it's very small. In other words, you don't have any strong evidence to prove that this is possible."
He paused and hesitated for a moment before he said, "Eide, you're very outstanding. We all know that, but why don't you continue?"
Although he was very tactful, Adriaan still heard the meaning behind his words. He then slowly stood up, put his hands on the desk, and looked down at Claude. "Can't you see it? Can't you see it? Or do you not want to see it, Krau? If we need funds, there are many ways to raise funds. We don't necessarily need to go public! Doing this at this time is risky. If it was ten years ago, I would not hesitate to agree as long as it is beneficial to the group. But now, we don't need to take risks anymore! "
"Waiting for something that doesn't conform to the reality is risky! I know what I'm doing very well. Nothing can be done without risks. As long as it's within an acceptable range, as long as the gain is higher than the cost, it's worth doing! "Claude also stood up and stared at Adriaan intently.
"Acceptable? The gain is higher than the cost? " Adriaan finally couldn't help but sneer. "I still have the same question, Krau. Did you not see it, or did you not want to see it?!"
"I didn't see it? Did I not see it, or did you think I didn't see it? " Claude asked loudly. "I don't understand, Eide. You have always trusted me. Why are you acting like a different person now?"
"Of course I trust you, Krau. I trust you as always, but before you do this, shouldn't you at least ask me on the phone?!"
"Ha, do you feel that your authority has been offended? Just because I didn't inform you on the phone? "
Their voices were getting louder and louder, and their emotions were getting more and more agitated. In the end, they stared at each other like red-eyed bulls, neither giving in to the other.
After a while, Claude said word by word, "You know, I could have told you after I was done!"
That's right. Adriaan had always been letting go, so as the president and CEO, Claude had a lot of power. If the board of directors supported the listing, he couldn't stop it. Perhaps Claude wanted to express that the reason he came to ask for Adriaan's opinion was because he respected him. But Claude forgot that at this time, this sentence had another meaning: Even if you know, you can't stop me.
Therefore, Adriaan's face became livid, and he replied word by word, "You can try!"
Claude's face also became livid, and he immediately turned to leave without saying a word. Then, there was a loud bang at the door.
"What happened …" Ivanka hurried in, but she had just said a sentence when Adriaan slammed his fist on the table, making a loud "dong" sound.
Then, he fiercely swept all the things on the table to the ground, his scarlet eyes wide open as he took deep breaths.
Ivanka couldn't help but take a step back, but she quickly stepped forward and grabbed Adriaan's arm, "Calm down, Eide."
Adriaan turned his head, and the expression on his face was particularly ferocious. Ivanka was about to speak, but he plopped her on the table and cried out in pain. Adriaan completely ignored her, violently lifted her short skirt, tore open her stockings and underwear, and rammed into her without any foreplay.
Ivanka cried out in pain again, but she didn't resist or struggle. She just bit her lip and let him abuse her violently from behind.
※ ※ ※
After some time, Ivanka finally woke up. She found herself lying on the sofa with a coat over her. She reluctantly sat up, then took a few breaths of cold air, and pulled open the coat. Her blouse was fine, but her skirt had been ravaged beyond recognition, and her stockings had several big holes. She reached out to touch her waist and the inside of her thighs. The pain came immediately, and she was afraid that there would be some bruises.
She smiled bitterly, then looked at the figure standing in front of the French window. Adriaan, who was only wearing a shirt, had his arms crossed with his back facing her, and seemed to be thinking about something.
Ivanka stood up and walked behind him. She reached out and hugged his waist from behind, "Are you better now?"
Adriaan turned around, cupped her face, and looked down into her eyes, "Did I hurt you?"
"It's … It's okay …" Ivanka smiled.
"I hurt you." The question became a statement, and the next second he held her in his arms, "I'm sorry, Yini. I'm sorry, but I promise there won't be a next time."
"It's okay." Ivanka hugged him tightly, as if she wanted to embed her whole body in him, "It's the first time I've seen you and Krau quarrel … It must be terrible to quarrel with your best friend."
"Yes, my last best friend, the best partner." Adriaan sighed deeply, "A huge crack has appeared in our friendship of decades."
"Can I … do anything for you?" Ivanka's tone was indescribably gentle.
"No, no need." Adriaan stroked her blonde hair, "You've done enough for me. I'll handle it, trust me."
The quarrel was very sudden. After calming down, Adriaan also began to reflect, and he seemed to be … a little allergic. However, he really didn't expect that Claude actually wanted to let the group go public, and at this juncture.
What the hell! If it were any other time, even if Adriaan was reluctant, he wouldn't refuse. After all, every media group was a listed company, and it was not impossible to think about attracting more influential people. But why now? And he had already reached preliminary cooperation with two major investment banks. If he went public now, three months later …
He actually didn't realize, how could he not realize … Every time Adriaan thought about this, he felt very annoyed. Well, it was normal that Claude didn't realize it. The uncertainty of financial fluctuations might not even be seen by those manipulating behind the scenes. Just like Soros in 1999, he thought that the IT bubble would burst at that time, so he invested a large amount of money to short it, and ended up losing a lot of money.
But from another perspective, if even Claude didn't predict the timing of the subprime loans, then the possibility of someone pushing behind the scenes would be very low. As mentioned above, almost no one could predict the uncertainty of financial fluctuations perfectly. Even if everyone knew that this day would come when the Federal Reserve started to lower interest rates, they didn't know when exactly it would happen. You know, Adriaan originally wanted to take this opportunity to make another fortune.
Therefore, it was no wonder that Adriaan had such a violent reaction when he heard that Claude planned to go public at this time. Maybe this was just one reason. In addition, Adriaan instinctively wanted to maintain his authority.
Yes, as mentioned more than ten years ago, there were almost no companies that could develop into a large group with two core members. Basically, one person was the core, and the other was the support. Although Adriaan chose the latter, he also used various means, such as releasing some forward-looking information to increase his weight.
For a long time, he and Claude had been working closely together. Many things would be discussed in advance before they were put into action. Because of this, AC Media had developed step by step to the scale it was today. But suddenly, when he was completely unprepared, Claude proposed to go public, and everything was ready except for the east wind. Not to mention Adriaan, any chairman of the board would feel uncomfortable.
In addition, Adriaan was used to being in charge of the general direction and leaving the details to Claude. When faced with a situation where the other party suddenly wanted to force something he didn't want, he instinctively protected himself.
As a result, at this time, on the eve of a destined disaster, several factors intertwined. Adriaan would not agree in any case, so the dispute was inevitable.
Unfortunately, he couldn't convince Claude. Even though he had been in this position for so many years and had a considerable understanding of finance, he was still not as good as Claude. Although he had a good discussion with Claude in the past and persuaded him to accept his opinion several times, that was under the premise that he had done his homework. Now, Adriaan could only find some unconvincing information at the last minute. Even when he racked his brain to think of the New Century Financial Company, it was quickly refuted by Claude, so the dispute escalated.
In fact, it wasn't that the two of them hadn't had disputes in the past, but in the end, it would end with one party compromising. But today, for some reason, even when Adriaan was so adamant in his opposition, Claude still refused to give up, and in the end, the situation went out of control.
Damn … Okay, I have to bear a large part of the responsibility. This was what Adriaan thought after some reflection. If he had been more careful and not so focused on other aspects, if he had seen Claude's document on preparing to go public in advance, and if he had even reminded Ivanka, he wouldn't have been so passive today.
But it was strange that he couldn't keep his cool, but why was Claude so impulsive? This was indeed a question, but unfortunately, it was difficult to get an answer. After the big fight that day, the two of them hadn't spoken on the phone for a few days. Even when they met, they just nodded coldly.
This wasn't a good thing. In any case, the reason why AC Media was able to carve out a path in the media industry and achieve its current scale was related to the close and complementary cooperation between Adriaan and Claude. This was something that no one else could replicate. Now, there was a rift between the two, plus the loan crisis was imminent. If they couldn't repair the relationship, it would inevitably have a serious impact on AC Media.
Besides, it wasn't like Adriaan and Claude didn't have no feelings. Whether it was the other one-third of the soul or the accumulation of more than ten years of hard work, Claude was indeed Adriaan's most sincere friend, brother, and best friend. He absolutely didn't want to lose him.
Therefore, after a few days, Adriaan, who had completely calmed down, estimated that Claude should have thought it through, so he took the initiative to go to his office.
"Hi, Krau." Adriaan sat down behind the desk and took the lead to greet him.
"Hi, Eide." Claude stopped what he was doing and nodded to him.
Then … there was a long silence. The two sat there, looking at each other from time to time, but not speaking.
Finally, Adriaan took the initiative to speak, "I want to apologize to you, Krau. I was too impulsive that day. I should … be calmer."
"Me too." Claude nodded again. "If I controlled my emotions a little … maybe there wouldn't be an argument."
"But I won't give up my opinion." Adriaan then said, "I still think that now is not a good time to go public. I hope you will wait at least three months."
Claude pursed his lips and didn't speak. Then there was a long silence. Adriaan couldn't speak again. First of all, he wouldn't agree to let the group go public at this time. Second of all … he couldn't take the initiative to say "we can discuss in detail" because that would mean showing weakness. Regardless of whether Claude would push his luck, as the chairman of the board of directors, Adriaan couldn't speak like this at this time.
After a long time, Claude finally said, "How about this, let's each take a step back. I don't want the company to go public, but I need to raise funds in the primary market."
Although this wasn't what Adriaan wanted, at least it was much better than going public. Also, Claude was right, this matter needed to be taken a step back, so he didn't refuse, "I think I can agree."
Then, a long silence came again. Until Adriaan got up and left, neither of them said a word.
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