Rebirth Tokyo 1986

Chapter 422 New York Knicks

In the afternoon, Yahoo continued its strong performance from the morning.

$11, $12, $13...

The stock price continued to rise until it reached $14.32 before the rally ended.

"Great, it's almost tripled."

"Haha, that's great! I hope it will surge again tomorrow."

"Nice, this is what a listed company should be like."

Shareholders and investors were in a frenzy, and Yahoo was no exception.

"Let's go, let's go together. The company has booked a luxury hotel nearby, we're going to drink until we drop tonight."

Yang Zhiyuan was so excited that he could hardly contain himself, exuding the air of a nouveau riche.

But this is normal.

On the first day of Yahoo's IPO, the company's stock surged by 286.4%, and his net worth also increased proportionally. Who wouldn't be excited?

However, during the celebration that evening, Shinji Kikuno did not forget to call and personally report the situation.

"Chairman, the stock price has risen by 286.4%, and Yahoo's market value has reached $28.64 billion."

"Oh, it's gone up that much?"

Takeshita Masaru never expected the stock market investors to be so enthusiastic, with the price rising to four times that of his previous life.

But upon closer reflection, it all seems to be the case.

The widespread adoption of internet cafes enhanced Yahoo's strength on the internet.

With the added boost from Xinghai Group, the stock market frenzy for the internet was perfectly ignited, so it's no surprise that Yahoo's market value rose to over $20 billion.

In response to his chairman's sentiments, Shinji Kikuno said with great pleasure.

"Yes, American stock market investors are very enthusiastic about investing and have a very positive outlook on Yahoo."

“Great, then let’s continue investing, and invest in more internet companies.”

Masato Takeshita has decided to increase his support for Starsea Ventures, aiming for another 5 US-version small goals.

It doesn't matter how much you earn; what matters most is that no one notices any irregularities in your business operations.

Even if all 5 million goes down the drain, Yahoo's growth will eventually bring it back.

"Understood, Chairman!"

When it comes to investing in internet companies, Masato Takeshita suddenly thought of Amazon.

This future trillion-dollar giant is not to be missed.

"Has Amazon, which you mentioned before, received any investment?"

“In November, we invested $2 million at a valuation of $10 million. Should we increase our investment?”

"Yes, we should try to get as many as possible if we have the chance."

In the 1990s, Amazon was not particularly noteworthy, so investing more wouldn't have been a problem.

However, given Bezos's shrewdness, it won't be much more; it's better than nothing.

"Yes, President."

After discussing the internet, Masato Takeshita began to talk about Seikai Sports Company, which was concurrently headed by Shinji Kikuno.

"Where have the negotiations with the American ITT Group progressed?"

Speaking of the acquisition of the New York Knicks, Masato Takeshita has some regrets.

When Viacom, the American media giant, acquired Hollywood giant Paramount Pictures in 1994, it directly sold its subsidiary Madison Square Garden Company to ITT Group out of disdain.

Madison Square Garden is the parent company of the New York Knicks.

If he had acted sooner, he would be the owner of the New York Knicks by now.

Unlike now, where repeated negotiations are still needed.

However, the regret was only slight. ITT Company didn't value the New York Knicks at all; they were the kind of company that would sell them for whatever price they could get.

As for things like American pride, capitalists don't care.

If they cared, they wouldn't have sold Rockefeller Center in the first place.

Compared to Rockefeller Center, Newx is nothing.

"The negotiations are almost complete, but there's still some disagreement about the price."

"Oh, how much do they want over there?"

"$20.37 billion. It should have been around $18 billion, but then the Dolan family came along and raised the price to $19 billion."

The Dolan family, the original owners of the Knicks.

The Knicks had a terrible record under their family's management, but they maintained the number one market value for a long time thanks to their geographical advantage.

Even if they occasionally relinquish the top spot, they will quickly regain the throne of the number one market capitalization.

A good location allows you to be this carefree.

"Okay, I agree to ITT's terms. I'll go there to sign the contract in three days."

Acquiring Madison Square Garden for over $20 billion is indeed expensive, but overall it's still acceptable.

After all, Madison Square Garden Company owns not only the Knicks and the arena, but also the New York Rangers ice hockey team, the Roosevelt Raceway, and a considerable amount of media business.

These industries can enhance Starsea Group's influence in New York and even throughout the United States.

"Yes, President!"

Shinji Kikuno knew in his heart that this was his chairman's ultimatum.

If ITT continues to drag things out, just give up.

Xinghai Sports will not go all-in on any one team; there are always secondary options.

For example, the Golden State Warriors, located in the San Francisco Bay Area, would be a very good choice.

Located near Silicon Valley, this area will grow larger and larger with the development of the internet industry, eventually becoming one of the Big Three in the United States.

"This is our final offer. If your company is not willing, we will have to find another basketball team."

"No problem, it's a pleasure to work with you."

The ITT president, who was in charge of the negotiations, looked at his two partners and then extended his right hand with a happy expression.

I thought it would only sell for around 18 billion, but it has now sold for 20.37 billion.

This was proof of his performance, meaning he could get a bigger bonus this year. He and several senior executives in charge of negotiations were naturally very happy.

As soon as the results came out, Shinji Kikuno immediately reported them to the young man.

"Very good, as expected of Kikuno-san."

After praising Shinji Kikuno's competence, Masato Takeshita still went to New York as scheduled.

He couldn't give the impression that he was impatient; what if they shamelessly tore up the preliminary agreement?

After all, when it comes to money, so-called face is completely unimportant.

After the signing was completed, the president of ITT, whether genuinely unaware of the situation or deliberately trying to cause trouble, said something.

"Congratulations, President Takeshita. The pride of New Yorkers will now belong to your company."

"No, we're just running it on behalf of others. The Knicks will always belong to the people of New York."

He wouldn't make the same mistake as Akio Morita, foolishly revealing his true thoughts.

There's no benefit other than offending the Americans.

As for his true thoughts, that's not important.

With the deal successfully concluded, a celebratory banquet was naturally in order. Takeshita Masato, unable to refuse, had no choice but to attend.

"Sigh, I'm going to be busy tonight."

As the main player in the acquisition, coupled with his own fame and Xinghai Investment's exceptional stock-picking ability, the young man is the center of attention wherever he goes.

This time is no exception.

As soon as the announcement from the podium that free time was coming up, he was surrounded by a crowd.

Some were there to solicit investment, some simply to leave an impression, and others were interested in investing in Xinghai Fund...

In short, they either want to make money through him or they want to take money from him.

Masato Takeshita is now more popular than the president in the United States.

After all, who doesn't like a capitalist who is generous with donations and can also help you make money? It was past 11 p.m. when Masato Takeshita finally returned to his residence with a stiff expression.

He washed his face, then went downstairs to have a late-night snack with Shinji Kikuno.

The two chatted as they ate, and the topic soon returned to Xinghai Sports.

"The San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Dodgers should also hurry up and start talks."

"Rest assured, things are starting to look promising between the two clubs."

The San Francisco 49ers are a football team from the San Francisco Bay Area that has won the NFL Super Bowl multiple times.

Acquiring a club like this would be no easier than acquiring the New York Knicks.

After all, American football is currently the most popular sport in the United States.

A professional rugby club is more than just a club; it represents your local connections and a ticket to high society.

However, as long as there is enough money, it can still be completed smoothly.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are a powerhouse in Major League Baseball.

While not as good as the New York Yankees, they are comparable to the Los Angeles Angels.

If they can secure all of these deals, Xinghai Sports will have truly established itself in the United States.

"Ah That's good."

Sports clubs don't make much money, but they've always been a hot topic for the media. So on the day the signing took place, television and newspapers immediately launched into a deluge of reports about the Knicks changing hands again.

The same thing happened on Yahoo!, where it became the hottest news of the day.

And this enthusiasm was remarkably long-lasting, persisting until the next day without waning.

"Japan is attacking again, this time targeting Major League Baseball teams."

"If we lose Hollywood, will we lose professional sports as well?"

"New York, you've become like Japan again."

When Masato Takeshita woke up, the first thing he looked at was the New York area newspaper.

I found that all of the above news articles were similar, exaggerating the Japanese threat theory.

This is a characteristic of local tabloids.

In order to boost sales, they constantly stir up people's emotions and then profit from it.

Even in the internet age, countless unscrupulous media outlets still use this old trick.

Unfortunately, many people simply lack critical thinking skills, or even if they do, they are too lazy to look or investigate, thus creating controversy online.

It can only be said that they are not talking about the facts, but only guiding emotions.

Whether they are traditional journalists and editors in the 1990s or practitioners in new media in the 21st century, they are all the same.

The truth of the news doesn't matter; making money by exploiting public sentiment is the top priority.

Tabloids and small TV stations can spout nonsense for sales and ratings, and so can major newspapers and TV stations.

However, this time, the major newspapers and television stations did not intend to profit from public sentiment.

Their reporting was particularly positive, even biased towards the Xinghai Group most of the time. They believed that with the Xinghai Group's involvement, the Knicks would develop better and better.

The reason is quite simple: Xinghai Group is the major financial backer of these newspapers and television stations.

They can't afford to offend sponsors who spend tens of millions on advertising just for a single trending topic.

"Fine, then I'll just spend some more money."

Masato Takeshita decided to continue with the Star Sea Group's simple and unpretentious policy and spend money to advertise in tabloids.

In this way, the discussion about the Knicks will quickly cool down.

Meanwhile, the news reached Japan. There was almost no dissent in society; everyone praised it.

"As expected of Xinghai Group, they actually acquired the Knicks, a representative of American basketball."

"Yes, Xinghai Group is doing a great job."

"I'm so envious. I wish I had 2000 billion yen."

Although he was far away in New York, the young man soon learned of the praise reports from Japan.

This made him feel much better, and he decided that he would also establish a Japanese basketball league in the future.

It would be even better if it could be merged with the future Chinese CBA basketball league.

TBS Sports will add another exclusive program.

……

The Knicks and Rangers are still in a state of chaos after the acquisition was just completed.

After all, with a new boss, nobody knows what will happen.

Therefore, after reading today's newspaper, Masato Takeshita had a simple breakfast and then, together with Shinji Kikuno, took a car to the New York Knicks.

At this time, the Knicks' most important player was Ewing, one of the four great centers, and the head coach was Van Gundy, who had just been promoted from assistant coach.

The team is of good quality, but they don't have the strength to compete for the championship.

Takeshita Masato thought for a moment, then turned his head to look at Kikuno Shinji sitting next to him.

"The team is very good. What do you think about keeping the team unchanged for now?"

"Hmm, I think it's fine to keep it as it is."

Shinji Kikuno wasn't interested in sports, so since the president preferred things to remain the same, he naturally went along with it.

He was even secretly relieved that he didn't have to devote more energy to sports.

"Okay, that's settled then, so as not to give New Yorkers the impression of being aggressive."

Masato Takeshita made the decision immediately, finalizing the matter.

Although making a decision right before the start might seem frivolous, that's often how decision-making works. You simply can't make up your mind until the very last minute.

In fact, besides not wanting to leave an aggressive impression, there was also the factor that Masato Takeshita didn't want to change, which was that the chances of him changing were slim.

The basketball god has returned to the basketball world, and the NBA is about to enter the second Jordan era.

No matter how hard you struggle, you're unlikely to win a championship, so it's better to stay the same.

Soon after, the car arrived at Madison Square Garden, the home arena of the New York Knicks, where the two men shook hands and greeted the staff one by one.

This time, the protagonist is Shinji Kikuno.

As for the big boss, he remained behind the scenes, observing silently.

This is the result of their discussion yesterday.

After the New York Knicks, other sports clubs such as the Rangers ice hockey team will naturally also have to meet with them.

Then, without realizing it, the morning had vanished.

After enjoying a simple company lunch with the employees, the two went to the NBA headquarters in the afternoon.

The two of them will meet with David Stern again.

This time, the two were not representing social investors, but rather members of the NBA.

"President David, thank you so much for your support."

Stern, the president of the New York Knicks, played a crucial role in Xinghai Sports' successful acquisition of the NBA's most profitable team.

He not only provided a large amount of information to Xinghai Sports free of charge, but also personally visited them to act as a lobbyist.

Of course, Stern wasn't the kind of person who liked selfless dedication.

There are two main reasons why he is so proactive.

First, we hope to use this to open up the Japanese basketball market.

Secondly, Stern will have a stake in the Xinghai Fund in the future.

It just goes to show that there's nothing new in this world.

"No, I should be thanking you. With your acquisition of the Knicks, there will be far less turmoil within the team."

Stern had a keen eye and immediately saw that ITT would not run the team properly.

He was so happy that Xinghai Group would come and take over the business that he wanted to open 10 bottles of champagne.

Major newspapers would certainly not do that.

(End of this chapter)