Chapter 932

After the Stanford fight, Adriaan and Claude finally eliminated the estrangement between them caused by the group's listing. Sometimes it was easier for men to communicate with their fists. Then, everything seemed to be developing in a good direction, but unfortunately, only two days later, this illusion was broken.

Everything started with a video, a video uploaded to YouTube by an unknown person. The title was "Live Miracle Director Fights." Although the picture was not very clear, and it looked like it was taken with a mobile phone, it could basically be recognized that the person waving his fist with a middle-aged man was Hollywood's well-known super director and the new "Iron Man" Adrian Kewell.

The movie craze had not been long, and Adriaan had always been a well-known figure. One could imagine how much attention a video with such a title would attract – a few hours later, the number of hits exceeded a million.

"We can clearly recognize that the two people fighting in the video are Adrian Kewell, the chairman of the board of directors of AC Media, and Claude Lohenriques, the president and CEO of AC Media. This is obviously an unusual fight. Thinking of the rumors that AC Media was going public before, but it soon became financing in the primary market, we can fully infer that the two founders of AC Media are showing signs of a split." FOX News Channel, a subsidiary of News Corporation, took the lead in reporting this matter on TV, and showed their usual "attitude" style.

Although they did not distort too much because of the identity of Adriaan and Claude, the word "fight" was enough to explain a lot of problems. Coupled with the title "Two senior executives of AC Media waved their fists at each other," it was easy to guide people's thoughts.

After that, major media began to reprint it. There was a huge rift between Adriaan and Claude, and it spread quickly with this video. Although for ordinary people, this was just a super big gossip. It was so funny that the seemingly omnipotent super director would fight with his best friend. But for investors, this was a serious problem. If the opinions of the senior executives within a group were not unified, or even had a huge disagreement, how could they invest in such a group?

Moreover, soon, a reporter took photos of Adriaan and Claude. Although both of them were covered up, some traces could still be seen under the high-definition camera prepared by the reporters. And soon, someone found the original author of the video, a cleaner in Stanford. The other party said that he saw it by accident, but he was a fan of Adriaan and had just watched "Iron Man," so he recognized him at a glance and took a photo of him with his mobile phone.

In this way, it proved that this was neither hype nor conspiracy, so it further increased the credibility of the two men's internal strife. Although Adriaan and Claude said through their spokespersons that there was nothing between them and they just fought over a little thing. This was something that everyone would do.

"Has no one ever fought with their own brothers?" Adriaan also wrote such a paragraph on his Facebook and posted a few photos of the cocktail party that night.

Unfortunately, this did not have much effect. Some financial magazine commentators began to publish articles questioning the internal situation of AC Media. Wall Street also became more and more hesitant, and the financing operation, which was not smooth, became even more difficult.

To make matters worse, more than a week later, FOX News suddenly broke the news that, according to an internal employee of AC who had resigned, Adriaan and Claude had a fierce argument about whether the group should go public. "It was so loud that it could be heard even at the door," FOX News quoted the other party's words and made full fun of them.

"From an argument to a fight, who can tell me what will happen next?" A commentator said on TV.

Although AC Media denied it at the first time and claimed that it would reserve the right to sue the resigned employee for legal reasons, the rumors of internal discord were rampant for a while. In particular, some reporters said that the two founders only nodded and said hello when they met, and there was no sign of their usual intimacy.

Although Adriaan and Claude soon appeared in front of the media together at a fundraising party, and Adriaan appeared at the premiere of "I am Legend," starring Will Smith and Gao Yuanyuan as the supporting actress, he repeatedly said that there was no conflict between him and Claude, but it was always interpreted by the outside world as a cover up. Therefore, all kinds of unfavorable rumors about AC Media continued to ferment in the media.

Fortunately, they were not a listed company. Otherwise, some investors with weak hearts would not be able to accept the stock graph. Even so, the group's business in this area was greatly affected. After almost a month of delay, there was news from Wall Street that the financing was put on hold — FOX News used the word "refused" — and the voices questioning AC Media became louder. Finally, someone jumped out.

"This is indeed a major setback, but it will not affect our development. Of course, before that, someone must take responsibility for it," an executive director of the AC Media board said in an interview after Independence Day.

In fact, a few days later, he united some of the board members and asked the group to hold a board meeting to hold the matter accountable.

"This is a common problem of new groups that expand too fast. If they keep the momentum of growth, even if there is a conflict, the shareholders can choose to ignore it. But once there is a major problem, the rift between them will rapidly expand." In the past one or two months, AC Media had been the focus of attention. Naturally, such news could not be hidden, so some commentators made such comments.

"I don't care what other media say, and I have never thought too much about it. I want someone to give a reasonable explanation for this matter!" Bruce Kahn, one of the executive directors of AC Media, who had previously said that he wanted to hold the board meeting accountable, sat at the lower end of the long table in the conference room. He spoke in a sonorous tone, glancing at Claude from time to time.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties. He always dressed appropriately, was relatively conservative, and was very concerned about the financial budget and investment plan.

"Of course, Bruce, but … the meeting hasn't started yet." Robert Fleming, who was also an executive director, coughed awkwardly and glanced at the empty seat at the head of the table.

As the chairman of the board, he knew that the board meeting was aimed at his best friend, but he still hadn't shown up.

Sure enough, after the initiator spoke, someone couldn't help but say, "What does it matter? We could have set today's agenda ahead of time."

"Yeah, it's not contradictory, is it?" someone said.

There was no doubt that Kahn had won over a group of directors. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked for a board meeting at this time.

"It's not contradictory at all. I just want to know why Mr. Ron Lisi, as the president and CEO, had a serious communication problem with Mr. Chairman." After Kahn took the opportunity to start a conversation and won the support of many people, he immediately began to make things difficult. He looked at Claude without blinking.

"It's impossible for people to have problems communicating with each other," Claude said, not understanding his expression.

"You have been communicating well with Mr. Chairman before this, which is the first reason. Your poor communication has led to serious consequences, which is the second reason." Kahn was aggressive. "In any case, this is an irrefutable fact. In addition, I heard that Mr. Chairman had never heard of the listing before you brought it up. I think you need to explain this. "

Suddenly, there was an uproar in the conference room, and all kinds of whispers came one after another. Even a few directors couldn't help but look at Claude. One of them frowned and asked, "Is what Bruce said true, Claude?"

Although everyone here knew that because of Adriaan's delegation of power, Claude could indeed bypass him and do whatever he wanted. However, if Claude didn't say anything and only informed Claude at the last minute, it would be a sign of a falling out. Did they really go their separate ways? Some of the directors looked at the empty seats with bewilderment in their eyes.

"I did have a conflict with Adriaan in this regard, but after a heated discussion and calming down, we reached an understanding." Claude was still expressionless. "We all agreed to raise funds in the primary market."

But this answer was not satisfactory, so Kahn immediately said, "But you can't explain why the plan was clearly made, and Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan had already agreed, but in the end, they suddenly changed from going public to raising funds in the primary market. Well, even if Mr. Chairman and you reached an understanding, what happened next? If the incident with Stanford was an accident, then when everyone questioned us, how did our media deal with it? It was chaotic, brainless, contradictory, and at a loss. We were completely unable to fight against the dirty water that was thrown at us, and in the end, it led to the failure of the financing. "

He didn't hide the sarcasm in his tone, not giving any face at all. It was obvious that he was targeting Claude.

"The incident with Stanford was an accident. In that case, it was unwise for our media to defend ourselves on a large scale. We could only fight back in a roundabout way and wait for things to calm down a little before restarting." Claude remained expressionless.

What he said was not unreasonable, but at this time, in the eyes of the other directors, there was no difference between him and shirking responsibility.

"As Mr. Chairman's best friend, you shouldn't have let the incident with Stanford happen!" Kahn immediately said sharply.

"Bruce, this is not Mr. Ron Rith's responsibility." Fleming seemed to want to dissuade him, but this instead put the topic in his hands.

"I'm sorry, this is his responsibility!" Kahn raised his hands. "If this is not his responsibility, I can't imagine what responsibility Mr. Ron, who is the president and CEO, has!"

He said loudly, "Therefore, in view of the losses suffered by the company, I suggest that Mr. Ron be removed from his position!"

Several allies who had been roped in by Kahn immediately echoed, while the remaining neutral directors looked hesitant. Especially when they saw the empty seat at the head of the table, their hesitant expressions became even heavier. But for some reason, Claude didn't show any expression. Had he already accepted his fate? Or did he still have a trump card?

"Then, now we …" Kahn looked at Claude proudly and was about to continue speaking when he heard a voice from the door of the conference room. "I'm really sorry, I'm late. I sent Miss Brooklyn Decker to the studio on the way and chatted in the car for a few more minutes, so I was delayed. I hope it's not too late."

The person who spoke in such a relaxed tone, as if there was nothing to worry about, was naturally the chairman of AC Media, the famous Hollywood playboy, Adrian Kewell. Looking at his smug smile, the so-called chatting in the car was just an excuse. As long as a woman got into his car, it was equivalent to getting into his bed.

"What are you guys talking about, Krau?" After sitting down in his seat, Adriaan asked his partner with a smile. His attitude suddenly made some people's hearts sink.

"About — how to remove me." Claude shrugged.

"Remove you? Why? "Adriaan showed a strange expression.

"We think Mr. Ron has to take responsibility for this matter," Kahn said first. Although he was very serious, he looked somewhat uneasy.

"You mean the incident where you were photographed fighting and then the financing failed?" Adriaan asked.

"Yes, Mr. Chairman, and we believe that you didn't know about the listing at the beginning." Kahn took a deep breath.

"Yes, I didn't know at the beginning." Unexpectedly, Adriaan nodded. "But this was caused by me. I just glanced at the proposal he sent and didn't take it to heart at all. Of course, we also argued about this, but in the end, we both took a step back and decided to raise funds in the primary market. There were just some small problems that we didn't solve, and then because of some conflicts that occurred during Stanford's cocktail party, we simply got into a fight. I didn't expect a cleaner to take a picture and post it on the Internet, which eventually led to the failure of the financing … Well, Krau does have to take some responsibility, but so do I. "

After this sentence came out, several people's faces changed, especially Bruce Kahn and the directors who supported him before. Adriaan's words were tantamount to expressing his support for Claude, so it was impossible to remove Claude from office. Not only was Adriaan the person with the most shares on the board of directors, but he was also the major shareholder of the entire AC Media. As long as he and Claude worked together, any resolution could be passed.

The reason why Kahn had the idea of dismissing Claude was because he and Adrian didn't get along well. During this period of time, it was just as the rumors said. Ever since they quarreled over the listing, they rarely saw each other. Even if they did, they were very cold. Therefore, Kahn had other ideas. In his opinion, if there was a huge rift between the two, as long as he stood firmly on Adriaan's side, it was very likely that he would replace Claude.

His ambitious ambition, coupled with the hint of the empty chairman's seat at the meeting, finally made Kahn take a gamble. Unexpectedly, looking at the situation today, the two of them were simply putting on an act in order to make some people jump out on their own.

"Is there anything else?" Adriaan asked immediately.

The directors looked at each other and shook their heads involuntarily. After being played like this, even if there was a topic, they didn't dare to raise it. God knew what else they were planning.

"Well, then I have a proposal." Adriaan's smile became subtle at this time. Several directors, including Kahn, couldn't help but feel their hearts tighten. Could it be so soon?!

"I propose that Robert Fleming be disqualified as an executive director and expelled from the board of directors." Unexpectedly, this was what Adriaan said.

The meeting room was silent for a few seconds, followed by an uproar. They thought he was going to expel Kahn, who made things difficult for Claude. How did he change the topic to Fleming, who spoke up for Claude before?

"This … Why is that?" Fleming was shocked.

"Did you say something wrong, Adriaan?" a director asked immediately, looking a little worried.

"Yes, for what reason do you want to expel Robert?" Another director asked hurriedly. Expelling a director, an executive director at that, would only make everyone feel insecure.

"Selling the group's confidential information to Rupert Murdoch, is this reason enough?" Adriaan, who maintained his smile, said in a gentle tone. Then, he called out. Soon, an assistant came in from the door and placed the prepared folders in front of the directors.

Everyone, including Bruce Kahn, looked shocked. They glanced at the pale Fleming and quickly opened the folders in their hands. Adriaan's voice sounded again as they moved. "On April 23rd, you met with Murdoch at the Raphael Club. On the third day, the acquisition that was supposed to be successful fell through and was taken away by News Corporation half a month later. On May 13th, you spoke to Murdoch on the phone. A week later, Mad Men, which I had my eyes on, was bought by Fox at a high price. On June 19th, you spoke to Murdoch alone at a charity party at the Four Seasons Hotel. Then, an employee left. Four days later, Claude and I had an argument."

He smiled and looked at the pale Fleming. "Do you want me to continue, Robert?"

Then, he thought of something and said, "Oh, yes, I have to add one more. Instigate Bruce to convene a board meeting and make things difficult for Claude."

Kahn glared at Fleming fiercely and then looked at Adriaan with fear. He didn't expect that Fleming's unintentional but confident words were using him as a gun, and he didn't expect that Adriaan and Claude were clear about it. He couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.

"I only put some photos and information about your cousin's position at News Corporation in the folder. I don't want to take out any recordings or videos, and I don't want to know how much Murdoch gave you. I just want to say …" Adriaan stopped smiling and pointed to the door of the conference room. "Now, get out."

Then, the dejected Fleming stood up and walked out shakily, accompanied by the curses of the directors in low voices.

"Okay, guys!" After Fleming left, Adriaan clapped his hands again. "I believe that at this moment, you are no longer interested in discussing anything else, so let's adjourn the meeting. However, before the new executive director is elected, I propose that Bruce be in charge of Robert's work — is that okay?"

The last sentence was for Kahn, who was stunned. He didn't expect such a thing to happen.

"Anyway, you're thinking about the company." Adriaan smiled.

"It's my honor." Kahn immediately bowed a little excitedly.