Return to 1958 and build a century-old giant

Chapter 887 Planning for Marvel
After reaching an agreement with Ho Sin-hang, Yang Wen-tung left Hang Seng Bank. He had actually been considering the matter of succession for a while and had already selected a candidate. He would just have the headquarters arrange interviews later.
In theory, Hang Seng Bank was already considered his own in the early 70s. However, out of respect for Ho Sin-hang, the management rights were always held by the Ho family, so he didn't need to worry about many things and only needed to cooperate occasionally.
But now that he has control, many of his plans have to change. At least in terms of cooperation with the mainland, he needs to be more aggressive.
Another option is overseas markets. However, it is very difficult for traditional industries like banking to enter other countries' markets, just like supermarkets. Therefore, the most suitable approach is to acquire overseas banks.
The best target, of course, is Standard Chartered Bank a few years from now. In the UK, they are already arranging to gradually acquire shares. As long as Lloyds Bank launches its attack, they can take advantage of the chaos.
In Hong Kong, the three major events—the industrial relocation plan, the property sales plan, and Hang Seng Bank—are all proceeding smoothly.

May arrived quickly, and Yang Wendong once again boarded a private 747 and headed to the United States, with his first stop being Los Angeles.

At a filming location in Hollywood, Yang Wendong met Li Xiaolong, whom he hadn't seen in a long time: "Xiaolong, you don't look too well."

Li Xiaolong chuckled and said, "It's nothing. It's probably just a recurrence of an old injury from when I was younger. My leg has been hurting a lot lately."

"You definitely pushed yourself too hard when you were young." Yang Wendong glanced at the wire crane in the distance and asked, "Is your body still able to handle filming?"
Because of his interference, Li Xiaolong, who was originally supposed to have died in 73, is still alive today;
However, the physical damage caused by his early struggles is irreversible. In addition, even after Yang Wendong's advice, he still frequently worked at high intensity after 73. It is not surprising that he has a lot of injuries today.
Humans need exercise, but excessive exercise can be more harmful to the body. Medical data from mainland China in the past also found that many people suffered heart attacks because they ran too hard.

Li Xiaolong said, "It's okay, I'll just take some painkillers. They're easy to buy here in the US."

"No, you should take it easy and take fewer painkillers." Yang Wendong was immediately at a loss; this was an even bigger trap. "How about this, after this movie is finished, you must take a six-month break and then go to Hong Kong. I'll arrange some light business activities for you there, or you can go to the mainland for some fun. I also have some business needs in that regard."

Matthew McConaughey, who played Chandler in the sitcom "Friends," became addicted to painkillers due to an overdose, which ultimately led to him living a miserable life despite his immense wealth.
At this time, the overuse of painkillers in the United States is not as prevalent as it will be a decade or two later, but it is still something that should be taken seriously.

Furthermore, Li Xiaolong is now very famous in mainland China and Asia. Many of Yang Wendong's businesses can indeed hire Li Xiaolong for endorsements, tours, and so on.

"I'll think about it." Li Xiaolong didn't give an immediate answer.

Yang Wendong didn't want to force him, so he said, "From a business perspective, I would prefer that you find a successor as soon as possible. It would be good for you too. You can't make much money by relying on yourself. Now that you're a boss, it's best to have others make money for you."

The contract he signed with Bruce Lee had expired. Unlike Luo Wei in his previous life, Yang Wendong would not resort to any underhanded tactics. Instead, he partnered with Bruce Lee to open a film and television company, focusing on the production of various martial arts films and the training of talent.
"Yes, I understand." Li Xiaolong nodded;
He also knew that no matter how many movies he could make, in Hollywood, he could only make two at most a year. But if he had several stars under his wing, even if each of them didn't have as much star power as him, he could still earn more.

Considering his health, he also needs to prepare for early retirement. As people get older, their competitive spirit diminishes somewhat.

Yang Wendong smiled and said, "That's good. There are quite a few new martial arts stars emerging in Hong Kong. You can take a look at them and then try to bring them to Hollywood."

With its substantial financial investment, Hong Kong films have seen their overseas revenue increase exponentially, which has further stimulated the development of Hong Kong's local film industry.

Not only martial arts films, but other films are also springing up like mushrooms after rain, breaking previous records one after another;
The 80s today are completely different from what he remembers; many celebrities have emerged that he didn't know.
However, he doesn't care. Some celebrities may disappear, but as long as the industry can make money, more other celebrities will naturally emerge.
As the powerful capital behind everything, he naturally controls the biggest profits. What others get is just some profit that he deliberately withheld for the sake of industry development.

“Okay, there are a few people in Hong Kong that I really think are promising.” Li Xiaolong smiled.

Yang Wendong added, "That's settled then. Take care of yourself."

Hong Kong cinema has reached this point, and he basically doesn't interfere. Besides, given his current status, it's impossible for him to participate in filmmaking or anything like that.

However, he still watches movies. Nowadays, there are many more Hong Kong movies, which greatly help meet his spiritual needs.
After parting ways with Li Xiaolong, Yang Wendong visited Paramount Pictures. During this period, many Hong Kong actors entered Hollywood, mainly through collaborations with Paramount. Some of them even became well-known supporting actors in the American film and entertainment market.

Of course, Paramount also has its advantages. Yang Wendong selectively shows Paramount's old movies in more than 1000 cinemas across Asia. This is a sure-fire way for Paramount to make money. Old movies from the 1960s and 70s don't make much money in the US market, but some of them are very popular in the Asian market.

However, this was just a business meeting, with no actual cooperation whatsoever.

In recent years, Yang Wendong has also tried to participate in Hollywood film investment again, but the results have not been very obvious. As for the films of this era, apart from knowing a few of the most famous ones, he can't think of any others. He didn't participate in some films, such as "Alien".

As for personally participating in filmmaking, given Yang Wendong's achievements in other fields today, he no longer cares. He cannot spend too much of his time on it. The reason he filmed "Jaws" before was because there was an original novel. He only needed to buy the rights and find Spielberg.

Spielberg's films in recent years haven't been bad, but they've been just average. Blockbuster films like "Jaws" are rare. The success of top directors is a combination of various opportunities.

From a business perspective, the best model is still to cultivate Hong Kong stars, which is more stable and can generate long-term income. It is also easier to control. He doesn't want to promote white people.

Having worked in the film industry for so many years, he could say he was already in a very comfortable position. Only with the advent of the mobile internet era and the abundance of entertainment options would the film market be impacted. And once the mainland market further opened up, he could then plan for the cinema chain in this huge market. After finishing his business in Los Angeles, Yang Wendong went to New York.
On May 8, Yang Wendong ate breakfast delivered from the Michelin-starred restaurant downstairs on the rooftop balcony of the Four Seasons Hotel.
"Mr. Yang," a middle-aged man approached and greeted him politely.

"Old Wu, have a seat." Yang Wendong invited, "Let's have breakfast together. There's too much breakfast here, it would be a waste if we couldn't finish it, so don't be shy."

Old Wu's real name is Wu Zhiyuan. He is the head of Changxing Financial Group in the western United States and was among the first batch of people to join the Hong Kong company. Yang Wendong is quite familiar with him.

"Thank you, Mr. Yang." Wu Zhiyuan didn't stand on ceremony and sat down with a smile.

Yang Wendong asked, "How's the investigation going with Marvel?"

Yang Wendong has invested in many of the top companies of the future, such as Disney. Currently, Yang Wendong holds 4.9% of the company's shares and is continuing to acquire more.
However, one of the core factors that enabled Marvel's success in its previous life was that it acquired Marvel in the late 90s, obtained various Marvel heroes, and thus created Marvel movies. In the following 20 years, it earned tens of billions of dollars from the world every year through movies and merchandise.
Although he also has an animation company in Hong Kong and has even tried his hand at the Transformers series, he doesn't want to let go of the Marvel series either. However, Marvel Company existed long before World War II, the copyright is already in the United States, and those superheroes have already appeared.

Even if they don't appear, it would be very difficult to launch an American superhero given Hong Kong's resources and channels.

Another point is that Marvel's distribution channels are all over the United States. Once you acquire or invest in it, not only will you gain huge profits in the future, but it will also make it easier for your Hong Kong animation to enter the US market, such as "Dragon Ball" and "Transformers".
So last year, Yang Wendong arranged for the US to investigate Marvel's situation because he knew that Marvel had been acquired in the 80s, so he wanted to make his move in advance.

Wu Zhiyuan replied, "Marvel itself is not publicly listed, but it is controlled by a company called Cardons Industries, which is publicly listed."

"What is the market value? Who are the major shareholders?" Yang Wendong asked.

Wu Zhiyuan replied, "The market value is not high, only about 2500 million US dollars. Recently, the US economy has not been good, and the sales of Marvel's comics and merchandise have not been very good. In addition, the interest rate is very high, and Marvel's debt is also about 2000 million US dollars, so the financial data is not very good."

However, the shareholder situation is more complicated. Stan Lee is the largest shareholder of Cardinals, holding over 40% of the shares. There are other smaller shareholders, but none of them are significant. If we wanted to invest in Marvel, that would be easy; we could buy it on the secondary market. But if we wanted to acquire it, we would have to go through Stan Lee.

“Well, even in Hong Kong, it would be difficult to force a takeover with this kind of shareholding.” Yang Wendong shook his head and said, “We can’t launch a hostile takeover in the United States. Besides, although Marvel is not a company that affects the national security of the United States, it is a symbol of American spirit and culture.”
If we force a takeover, the US government might intervene. Furthermore, Stan Lee, as the founder of Marvel, wields immense authority within the company. Even if we succeed in the acquisition, he could abscond with his team, rendering our efforts futile.

Even if the copyright is still held, if there is no continuous story to update, the popularity will drop, and it is impossible to make a Marvel movie in the short term. Once the popularity is gone, it will be difficult to recover.
It's worth noting that almost everyone knows Disney's Mickey Mouse, but this animated series continues to be updated in order to maintain its former fame.
With the gradual development of various entertainment industries, the IP industry is either progressing or declining.

Wu Zhiyuan said, "In that case, we have no choice but to negotiate with Stan Lee?"

"Okay, let's make an appointment then. But don't mention acquisitions, talk about cooperation first. Our group also has an animation business," Yang Wendong said.

Wu Zhiyuan said, "Okay, should I simultaneously acquire Marvel shares on the stock market?"

"Let's start with 4.9%, just like with Disney. We'll see how things go after the meeting," Yang Wendong said after thinking for a moment.
Under U.S. law, any shareholder holding more than 5% of the shares must disclose this information, otherwise they will lose their legal authority, which means they will not have the right to vote.

If it's just pure economic investment, then it doesn't matter. For example, he has used his funds to acquire large amounts of stock in companies like Coca-Cola and General Electric. But he still has the idea of ​​acquiring Marvel. As for Disney, not to mention acquisition, he also wants to become a director. So he has temporarily stopped at 4.9% and will decide on the future based on developments.

“Okay, I’ll arrange it,” Wu Zhiyuan replied immediately.

Stan Lee responded quickly, clearly having heard of Yang Wendong's name. After receiving the visit invitation, he immediately arranged to meet at Marvel headquarters the next day.

The next day, Yang Wendong arrived at the Marvel headquarters on Madison Avenue in Manhattan, a well-known media hub in New York City, where many newspapers and advertising companies are located.

Stan Lee was already waiting downstairs at the building. As soon as Yang Wendong got out of the car, he saw the greatest cartoonist in American history: "Hello, Mr. Stan Lee."

Although Stan Lee's commercial net worth was not high, only tens of millions of US dollars, which was less than that of a small real estate tycoon in Hong Kong, Yang Wendong still respected this top genius. Moreover, Marvel's value is only low now. In the future, with the development of computer technology, its value will be no less than that of Hong Kong's top real estate tycoons.
Moreover, as an entertainment industry, its influence and benefits to Changxing Group will be even greater; this is not just about monetary value.

PS: Please give me a monthly ticket
(End of this chapter)