Chapter 1794: The Acquisition Begins

Gu Zai naturally understood what Zhao Fusheng meant; the man was looking out for him.

To put it bluntly, he was just an entertainer. Even if he had some fame across the strait and in Hong Kong, he was still just an entertainer.

To capitalists, entertainers were tools for making money. If any tool dared to meddle in their disputes, it meant the tool had slipped out of their control.

That was absolutely unacceptable.

To put it more directly, even for the sake of face, it wouldn't do.

"Thank you."

Gu Zai said to Zhao Fusheng sincerely.

He knew that Zhao Fusheng's willingness to say this meant he regarded Gu Zai as one of his own.

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand upon hearing this: "I didn't do much. This matter really has nothing to do with you."

As he spoke, he shrugged: "I have a bad temper. If someone provokes me, I will definitely retaliate."

Gu Zai was speechless, unable to utter a word for a long time.

Zhao Fusheng's words sounded like a joke, but Gu Zai didn't feel that way. More importantly, he felt that Zhao Fusheng truly meant what he said and would follow through.

After all, not everyone had the audacity to directly acquire shares of TVB just because they were offended.

For an ordinary person, being bullied was just being bullied; they wouldn't have the ability to retaliate like Zhao Fusheng.

So, having money was indeed a very good thing.

At the very least, even when bullying others, you could do it as you pleased.

"Alright, don't overthink it. Remember to treat me to a good meal later." Zhao Fusheng said to Gu Zai with a smile.

Gu Zai nodded repeatedly: "Of course, no problem."

He already owed Zhao Fusheng a favor, and this time he had the chance to treat Zhao Fusheng to a meal; it was only right.

Since Gu Zai was treating, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao didn't stand on ceremony. They waited in the hotel for a while, chatting and reminiscing about some interesting anecdotes from Gu Zai's previous shoots. Seeing that it was getting late, Zhao Fusheng suggested they all head out.

As for Le Yiling, she didn't call again. It seemed she hadn't taken the matter to heart.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't angry either. Since his plan was already in motion, this only made things easier without any burden.

"By the way, Gu Zai, I heard that many stars come from TVB's training classes. Are there really that many?"

Fan Baobao asked casually as she watched Zhao Fusheng and Gu Zai chat.

Gu Zai nodded: "Mrs. Zhao, it's true. TVB has indeed trained many people."

"It feels different from mainland TV stations," Fan Baobao said after thinking for a moment.

"It really is different," Gu Zai said with a smile as he began to explain.

Through his introduction, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao learned that unlike mainland TV stations, TVB was not just a television station but also a professional TV drama producer. It produced a large number of TV series annually and was once a star-making factory for the Chinese-speaking world. Most top-tier entertainment stars from Hong Kong who were active in the Chinese-speaking world had early experience acting in TVB series. Many of TVB's ancient costume martial arts dramas, especially its adaptations of Jin Yong's works, were regarded as classics.

Additionally, unlike the mainland's practice of forming temporary crews for TV drama production, TVB took full control of the production process, including screenwriters, producers, and most cast members, all of whom were company employees.

For actors appearing in TV series, TVB had several types of contracts.

One type was the manager contract for ordinary actors who had not yet become famous. TVB acted as the manager coordinating all their work, providing a fixed monthly salary in addition to program fees.

For established actors or external stars, TVB mostly used a basic series contract, calculating remuneration based on "program hours."

Additionally, TVB signed external series contracts. This star-making system ensured that actors received sufficient training in their craft and guaranteed the quality of the series.

However, the large number of manager contracts meant that salaries often fell short of some actors' expectations. After becoming famous, they were strongly motivated to leave the nest, and the main direction for departing actors was to head north to the mainland to seek fortune.

Zhao Fusheng found this quite normal. The situation for entertainers in some Asian countries with developed film and TV production was similar to TVB's. At least, as far as he knew, just like TVB's contracts that lasted seven or eight years, the entertainment contracts between Korean artists and their agencies were also harsh: not only were they long-term, but the profit-sharing ratios were also very skewed, and terminating a contract required paying exorbitant penalties.

A Korean star once joked bitterly: "After signing with the company, I felt like a slave with a master's label."

The profit-sharing between Korean agencies and artists was generally 70-30 or 80-20, and for newcomers, it could be 90-10. Moreover, Korean idol groups had many members. Take TVXQ, for example: their income was split 70-30 with the company, and the 30% they received had to be divided among five people. So, just like famous TVB artists who left, after gaining fame in Korea, stars like Han Shi and the returning four sons later turned to the mainland to make money.

The difference was that TVB's dominance in Hong Kong led to a lack of drive, and in recent years, the quality and influence of Hong Kong dramas produced by TVB had been declining.

In contrast, South Korea had three major TV stations: MBC, KBS, and SBS. The fierce competition forced entertainment companies to continuously produce hit dramas that swept across Asia. Korean variety shows and reality shows were also emerging in an endless stream.

...

...

While they were happily eating and chatting, over at TVB, chaos had already erupted.

The reason was simple: shocking news had come from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Someone was acquiring TVB's stock!

So-called Hong Kong stocks refer to stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Hong Kong's stock market is more mature and rational than the mainland's, and it responds sensitively to global market conditions. If a mainland stock is also listed in Hong Kong, forming an "A+H" model, the trend of the A-share can be judged based on its performance in the Hong Kong market.

The history of securities trading in Hong Kong dates back to the 19th century, but it wasn't until the establishment of the Hong Kong Brokers' Association in 1891 that the first formal stock market was formed.

From the late 1960s to the early 1970s, Hong Kong established the Far East Exchange, the Kam Ngan Stock Exchange, and the Kowloon Stock Exchange. Together with the original Hong Kong Stock Exchange, they formed a situation of four exchanges standing in opposition.

In the short span of two years from 1972 to 1973, 119 companies were listed in Hong Kong, and by the end of 1973, the number of listed companies reached 296. On July 7, 1980, the four exchanges merged to form the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

All four exchanges ceased operations after the close on March 27, 1986, and all business was transferred to the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

As for TVB's stock, since its listing, the amount circulating in the market was not large, with a total market capitalization of just over HK$5 billion.

Converted to RMB, it was less than 5 billion.

Therefore, acquiring TVB was actually not very difficult for Zhao Fusheng and Tan Kaixuan.

Tan Kaixuan acted quickly. As soon as Zhao Fusheng's message was relayed, he began to mobilize funds and finally entered the market officially when the afternoon session opened.

With his first move, he directly pushed TVB's stock up by one percent.

At that time, the person at TVB responsible for monitoring this area remarked that there must be some good news in the market today, since TVB's stock, which had been stagnant for ages, had started to rise.

But then, no matter how many sell orders appeared, they were all swept away, and TVB's stock price rose accordingly.

Only then did they realize that things had gone terribly wrong!

"Miss Fong, something terrible has happened!"

Chen Zhiyun rushed into Fong Yat-wah's office, panicked.

As the general manager of TVB, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation.

With Sir Run Run Shaw's formidable reputation, how many years had it been since anyone dared to touch TVB's stock?

But this time, someone truly had no fear of death!

"What's the matter? Why are you panicking?"

Fong Yat-wah glared at Chen Zhiyun, stood up unhurriedly, and said to him, "If you have something to say, say it quickly. I still need to go back and have dinner with Brother Six."

"Forget about dinner!"

Chen Zhiyun laughed bitterly: "A big problem has arisen!"

"What problem?"

Fong Yat-wah frowned slightly, still unhurried.

"Someone is acquiring our stock. They've already acquired over ten percent."

Chen Zhiyun's phone rang. He pressed the answer button, listened, and then said to Fong Yat-wah, "What should we do?"

"Stock?"

Fong Yat-wah was taken aback, completely unprepared for such an event.