Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 350 Yi An's valuation of 135 billion: the future king of entertainment stocks

In March, Hengdian
"Beauty's Rival in Palace," produced by Yi An Investment and Yu Zheng Studio, has officially started filming.

The director of the TV series is Wu Jingyuan, who used to work with Tangren Media and participated in projects such as "Chinese Paladin", "Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio", and "The Legend of the Condor Heroes".

Later, Yu Zheng brought him over to collaborate on "Locking Up the Autumn", and it went well. This time, they collaborated again on "Beauty's Rival in Palace".

This is also Yi'an's standard operating procedure at present.

Previously, when Yi An was still in her development stage, she tried to associate with or win over any director or screenwriter with some ability.

Even some behind-the-scenes personnel were poached by Yan Li, the boss himself.

Now, times have changed, Yi'an's status and strength are different from before, and her style of doing things has also changed.

Apart from a few core creators who are signed and bound together, second-tier directors and screenwriters are more accustomed to project collaborations.

The reason for this is that the former often has fame and industry influence, which brings intangible benefits. Being associated with them is good for the company. In addition, they have a certain degree of irreplaceability, which prevents them from being snatched away by competitors.

The latter may have some fame within the industry, but few among the general public, and they are all replaceable, so alternatives can be found.

Therefore, under such circumstances, many of the talents that Yi'an used to be eager to recruit are now unable to meet the signing threshold, and Yi'an mainly uses them for project cooperation.

This is the advantage of a large company: it directly serves the entire industry, and its talent pool and coordination capabilities are the envy of small and medium-sized companies.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Yi'an were to target the Tang people now, she could hollow out most of them in a short period of time.

But there's no need. Given Yi'an's current size and the fact that she holds the lifeline of Tangren Publishing, Tangren won't easily disobey Yi'an.

Except for a few core members, as long as everyone else's schedule is available, Yi An can directly call upon them, at most arranging some roles for Tangren's actors.

Directors and some teams from Tangren Media are also willing to come to Yi'an because the projects are big, lucrative, and offer good prospects. In many cases, even when it comes to Tangren Media's own productions, they prefer to come to Yi'an.

The investment and cast of "Beauty's Rival in Palace" are impressive, making it a project that has attracted attention in the industry. Many media outlets attended the opening ceremony.

Yu Zheng, who is both a screenwriter and producer, is full of fighting spirit.

Several TV dramas, including "The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty," "Rouge Snow," and "The Last Princess," were broadcast on satellite TV. Although they were not huge hits, they all achieved good results. Yi An also provided a lot of support for him, and there are already claims online that Yi An is the number one producer.

Yu Zheng was quite interested in this title, not only because it was a nominal honor, but also because it involved real benefits.

Yi An's listing has long been a public goal, and the actions of Huayi Brothers next door have set an example for everyone. Yan Li has also been spreading rumors in the company.

Yu Zheng is a veteran in Yi'an and has made some contributions, so he should definitely get a share of the original shares.

Even in Yu Zheng's mind, the only ones who could overpower him were Fan Xiaopang and Ning Hao, while Deng Chao and Wang Ou were evenly matched with him.

Deng Chao is the top star, and he also has a celebrity aura. He has great popularity and fame, which can help promote the company's stock.

Just like Huayi Brothers mainly promoted Huang Xiaoming and Li Bingbing as celebrity shareholders, Yi An's female artist is Fan Xiaopang, and the male artist will most likely be Deng Chao.

Wang Ou is quite famous, and he was the company's first artist, making him a veteran. Given his relationship with Yan Li, he must have received some preferential treatment.

Yu Zheng said that the deal was 50/50 with them, and they were all just flattering him. After all, his studio was a joint venture, so it would definitely be affected.

But Yu Zheng did not give up; Huayi Brothers and Yi An were in different situations.

The former will most likely hold the largest stake, which is Feng Xiaogang. Considering Li Bingbing's situation, it's highly probable that they will focus more on promoting Huang Xiaoming.

In the entire Yi'an organization, apart from Yan Li, no one can surpass Fan Xiaopang. Moreover, even Fan Xiaopang is just a card for Yi'an; the company's true core is definitely Yan Li.

This is the biggest difference between Huayi Brothers and Yi'an, because the Wang brothers of Huayi Brothers lack fame and strength, so they need a star strategy to boost the stock price.

Yi An also needs it, but with Yan Li, a commercial star, around, the importance of the star strategy is somewhat reduced.

In many people's eyes, even if Fan Xiaopang and Yi An and the others were together, they would not be as good as Yan Li.

Therefore, it can be predicted that Yi An Star's shares may not be as "generous" as Huayi Brothers', and Yan Li has absolute say in this matter.

If Yu Zheng performs well and earns Yan Li's praise, Boss Yan might loosen his grip and increase his original shareholding by a considerable amount.

In addition, Feng Xiaogang held the most original shares of Huayi Brothers, followed by Zhang Dahuzi.

The reason is that Zhang Dahuzi is the core of Huayi Brothers' TV drama business.

Yu Zheng felt that although he couldn't compare to Zhang Dahuzi's seniority and status, he still had a chance to become Zhang Dahuzi's business representative for Yi'an TV dramas within the company.

Of course, with Yi'an developing in this way, there are many formidable figures in the TV drama business. If Yu Zheng wants to stand out from the crowd, he needs to have solid achievements.

Therefore, Yu Zheng attaches great importance to "Beauty's Rival in Palace" and is determined to create a super hit like "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng".

To boost morale for the production team and generate buzz for the project, Yu Zheng made some bold statements at the opening ceremony.

"They say I'm the screenwriter who understands women's dramas the best. I don't really like that, but I can't deny that in the past two years, my dramas have been the best-performing among those centered around female leads."

"I don't care about those criticisms and controversies. I only care about whether my show is broadcast well, whether the audience likes it, whether the company makes money, and whether the actors become famous. That's enough."

"I have been preparing for this film for a long time, and it is also the most expensive film I have ever made. I believe this film will become a new peak in my career."

"I made a solemn promise to President Yan that 'Beauty's Rival in Palace' will definitely be a hit, and I will personally bear the losses incurred by the company."

"..."

Yu Zheng was talking non-stop in front of the reporters when Zhao Ke, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but nudge Qin Lan.

"Sis, weren't those words a bit too arrogant? Won't we get scolded if this gets out?"

"You don't understand this."

Huo Siyan chuckled and said, "Old Yu is deliberately creating hype to attract attention. Who would read those platitudes? Netizens and the media love these eye-catching things."

Qin Lan nodded: "When your brother-in-law first started filming, he was always talking nonsense and arguing with others."

"Later, Yi An gained power and even had Weibo, so this trick was used less often. Yu Zheng has a tough personality and isn't afraid of controversy, so he also learned this trick. If you carefully look through the news from a few years ago, you can find that Yu Zheng's words reveal a lot of your brother-in-law's shadow from back then."

Zhao Ke thought back for a moment and chuckled: "My brother-in-law is much more composed now. I had almost forgotten about the Phoenix Eagle Battle back then."

Liu Yun suddenly appeared out of nowhere: "Yan Li back then was much more arrogant than Yu Zheng."

Yu Zheng was just rambling on and on, but Yan Li directly challenged Zhang Da Hu Zi, who was the most powerful at the time, pointing at Zhang Da Hu Zi and cursing him, which really gave the onlookers a lot of fun.

Unfortunately, Yan Li is now self-assured and rarely encounters any rivals, so he rarely gets involved in public feuds. In addition, he continues to cultivate and deepen his image as a business elite.

So much so that even those who weren't familiar with him, like Zhao Ke, had a vague memory of Yan Li's "young and impetuous" persona.

"Speaking of which, there's a joke. A while ago, Zhang Da Hu Zi said he was filming 'New Journey to the West,' and when a reporter interviewed him, he brought up 'New Three Kingdoms' in passing, probably trying to stir up trouble. But my brother-in-law completely ignored him."

Li Xiaolu remembered something and shared it with a laugh, which made Qin Lan laugh as well.

"I know about this. In the past, there was a battle between Jin Yong and Gu Long. This time, with the Four Great Classical Novels, Zhang Da Hu Zi wanted to hype it up again, but your brother-in-law didn't think it was good enough and felt that it would lower his own status. So he got Old Wang from the TV department to step in, which made Zhang Da Hu Zi very angry."

"He was not only furious, but I heard he even smashed up the office."

Huo Siyan works at Huayi Brothers, the same company as Zhang Dahuzi. She is well-informed and knows some of the rumors.

Smashing the office might be an exaggeration, but it certainly infuriated Zhang the Bearded Man.

After all, what could be more disheartening than someone who tried to extort you back then now looking down on you?
What broke his defenses was that this was indeed a universally acknowledged fact, and even he himself had a bit of a probing intent to provoke him. Unfortunately, Yan Li's lack of consideration caused his plan to fail.

"In another two years, Old Yu might even have a run-in with Zhang the Bearded."

Huo Siyan lamented that although Wang Decai of Yi'an also serves as a producer, he now leans more towards company management, and people's impression of him is that of an executive rather than a producer.

Among Yi An's producers, Zheng stands out for his flamboyant and attention-seeking style.

Qin Lan shook her head: "I doubt it will take that long."

It's just that Zhang Dahuzi has too much seniority, while Yu Zheng lacks some experience; otherwise, they would have already started arguing.

Zhang Dahuzi's "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" performed poorly last year and has shown a downward trend, while Yu Zheng has been on the rise.

People going up the mountain and gods coming down the mountain, it's fine if they don't meet, but if they do, there will inevitably be friction and conflict.

"Alright, stop gathering. Go do what you need to do. I have an interview to do. Let's get together after the interview. Once filming starts, we'll all be busy."

Qin Lan didn't dwell on the matter; it had nothing to do with her. She clapped her hands and began arranging things for everyone.

This time, she also took on the role of producer and invested in the film through her company, Shanfeng Pictures.

After all, Qin Lan and Yi An have no relationship on the surface, and even if everyone knows what's going on, it's still not a legitimate relationship.

So Qin Lan made a small investment, joined the production team with her own funds, and naturally became the producer and gained a certain degree of influence.

It's worth mentioning that Shanfeng Pictures, founded by Qin Lan, not only collaborates with Qin Lan's studio, thus acquiring Qin Lan's management rights, but also signed an artist, Zhao Ke from the Teddy Sisters group.

The members of the Teddy Sisters group are: Ma Yili and Li Xiaolu are from Orange Sky Entertainment; Huo Siyan and Liu Yun are from Huayi Brothers Entertainment; Xiong Naijin went to Yinghuang Entertainment after her career at Huayi Brothers failed; Ying Cai'er is from China Star Entertainment; Gan Wei is from LeTV Entertainment; and Yang Mi is from Yi An Entertainment.

Only Zhao Ke and Qin Lan are working independently, or rather, they are not. Qin Lan was previously signed with a company under Hunan TV, while Zhao Ke works with an independent agent.

After the blog scandal, Qin Lan, not wanting to be affected by the company, terminated her contract and established Qin Lan Studio.

She didn't plan to go all out; she just wanted to have a small team manage her personal entertainment business.

However, her agent, Sister Lü, felt it was a waste for Qin Lan to have such good resources and only set up a small studio. In addition, with the investment in "Beauty's Rival in Palace", Sister Lü persuaded Qin Lan to establish Shanfeng Pictures.

Qin Lan provided the capital and resources, holding 85% of the company's shares, while Sister Lü was responsible for management and operations, holding 15% of the shares.

Not long after Shanfeng was founded, Zhao Ke came to join Qin Lan.

Originally, most of her resources came from Qin Lan. Now that she has joined Qin Lan's company, their relationship is even closer and their interests are even more intertwined.

They're sisters, but Zhao Ke gives some of her earnings to Qin Lan. It goes without saying who Qin Lan would rather give her resources to.

Besides Zhao Ke, Sister Lü also plans to go back to her old employer to poach talent, determined to make Shanfeng bigger and stronger.

Qin Lan herself wasn't too concerned. Even when Zhao Ke came, she signed a short-term contract with relatively lenient termination conditions, so as not to let her sister be delayed by the casual mountain scenery.

As for the rest, let Sister Lü do whatever she wants. If she has resources and connections, she'll contribute some to the company; if not, she'll just wait and see how far things develop. It doesn't matter if it fails; one studio is enough.

However, while he didn't care about Shan Feng, he was quite interested in Qin Lan from "Beauty's Rival in Palace." Shan Feng and Qin Lan's studios shared the same office, mainly engaged in artist management, and apart from hanging up a sign and some handling fees, they had practically no costs.

"Beauty's Rival in Palace" is different. Not only did she invest real money herself, but Yan Li invested even more, so it's definitely going to be filmed well.

Qin Lan is a fairly competent producer; at least she manages her artists quite well.

Whether it's the Teddy Sisters or other actors, none of them dare to act arrogantly in front of her; they all behave obediently.

Yu Zheng gave Qin Lan a thumbs up repeatedly: "I should have invited you here sooner. If you were in Yi'an, I wouldn't even dare to compete for the top producer position."

"Ah."

Qin Lan glanced at him: "Do you dare say that to the set of 'Go Lala Go!'?"

"Why wouldn't I dare? In my heart, you are the best."

Yu Zheng pledged his loyalty, then ran away. If Qin Lan called Fan Xiaopang, he'd be in deep trouble.

"That's what men are like, even if they're made of glass."

Li Xiaolu offered a sharp critique, and Qin Lan patted her on the shoulder and took her to an interview.

Li Xiaolu's scenes in "Beauty's Rival in Palace" haven't started yet, but she came here today specifically to show her support.

On the way, Li Xiaolu mentioned Dong Xuan's project, "Double-Sided Embroidery," and couldn't help but ask about it.

"Sis, is this a challenge for you?"

"How can an urban drama and a historical drama compete?"

Qin Lan shook her head. She was definitely competitive, but it wouldn't come to the point of a direct confrontation.

The two of them together are barely able to fight Fan Xiaopang; if they start fighting amongst themselves, Fan Xiaopang will be laughing his head off.

To put it simply, Fan Xiaopang's success in his career put a lot of pressure on the two of them, forcing them to fight back through their families.

To put it nicely, it's a form of resistance; in reality, it's just barely surviving.

There are plenty of women who can be virtuous wives and loving mothers, but very few who can achieve the same level of success as Fan Xiaopang in their careers.

Therefore, Chairman Qin has a certain sense of crisis and wants to achieve some career breakthroughs and celebrity status while taking care of his family.

Even if she can't compare to Fan Xiaopang, she still needs to have a strong presence compared to other women. Only by combining family, past relationships, and other factors can she secure her current position.

During this period, both Chairman Qin and Chairman Fan were somewhat on edge, each wanting to outdo the other, yet both worried about becoming the last one among the three.

So, while Qin Lan was filming "Beauty's Rival in Palace," Dong Xuan started preparing to film "Double-Sided Embroidery."

These private plans were not to be shared with outsiders. Only Qin Lan and Dong Xuan had some tacit understanding. Yan Li and Fan Xiaopang might have also noticed, but one didn't care and the other just watched with amusement.

However, Qin Lan and Dong Xuan wouldn't let her have any fun. No matter what their private schemes were, they appeared to be united on the surface.

"Tell the girls to watch their words. Dong Xuan might come over for a cameo role in a while."

"what?"

Li Xiaolu's mouth dropped open. In her memory, Chairman Qin had acted in movies with Fan Xiaopang, but the two had never worked together.

"How come we've never collaborated before?"

Let's not even mention the fact that they've worked together to get rid of Fan Xiaopang; Hong Kong and China have collaborated on several occasions to get rid of Yan Li.

However, Qin Lan would never tell Li Xiaolu this: "In the new Three Kingdoms, she plays Xiao Qiao and I play Empress Cao, but we don't have any scenes together."

This is the only time the two have appeared in the same movie or TV series.

Even with the addition of Fan Xiaopang and Yan Li, the four of them appeared in the same work in "New Three Kingdoms".

Qin Lan was not in the previous "Happy Seven Fairies", Dong Xuan was not in "Investiture of the Gods" and "The Legend of Lu Xiaofeng", and she also made cameo appearances in different movies in the "Love Transfer" series.

Even the all-star cast of "The Founding of a Republic" didn't have all the actors present, and Qin Lan didn't participate.

“In the past, Yan Li deliberately avoided putting the two of us together. Later, we grew to dislike each other and avoided each other. Now, times have changed, and our thinking must also change.”

Qin Lan outlined her relationship and feelings with Dong Xuan, and stated that...

"She's making a cameo appearance, and I'll also be making a cameo appearance in 'Double-Sided Embroidery' later, to reduce competition and prevent anyone from stirring up trouble."

Another purpose was to intimidate Fan Xiaopang and demonstrate the unity of their Xuanlan Alliance.

"..."

Li Xiaolu fell silent for a moment. In her memory, when the Teddy Sisters were first formed, Dong Xuan was the group's biggest threat and number one enemy. Huo Siyan clamored every day to destroy the Dong family.

How did they become allies in just a few years?

In a few years, Dong Xuan's group won't be merged into the group, will they? That would be quite a show!

Li Xiaolu didn't care. She had a good relationship with Dong Xuan and occasionally acted as her double agent. The most awkward one was Huo Siyan, who had fallen out with many people, including Dong Xuan.

Qin Lan had also thought of this, but she didn't think Dong Xuan and she could work together to that extent. Huo Siyan should just avoid Dong Xuan's cameo appearance.

...

After the interview, everyone gathered for a meal, which was originally a small get-together for the Teddy Sisters.

Later, Yu Zheng heard that He Shengming had come, along with several other actors from the drama crew, making it a reunion of the "Beauty's Rival in Palace" cast and crew.

Since they were already there, Qin Lan wasn't worried about spending more money on a few more dishes. After the gathering, Huo Siyan and the others weren't satisfied and took some more wine back to the hotel.

Even more outrageous, Huo Siyan somehow got hold of a mahjong table and put it in her room, where she organized everyone to drink and play.

Ever since Qin Lan won against Chairman Fan in a mahjong game during the Spring Festival, she has had a great time and has developed a habit of playing a few rounds whenever she has free time.

Since the group of sisters often got together, they needed to have activities and entertainment. So, under Qin Lan's leadership, playing mahjong gradually became a daily activity for the Teddy Sisters' gatherings.

Huo Siyan, in particular, is now even more addicted than Qin Lan, and sometimes she can stay up all night.

"It's okay to have some fun, but it can't interfere with filming."

Producer Qin Lan, feeling a sense of responsibility, emphasized moderation in leisure activities. However, she turned around and saw Yu Zheng grabbing a spot and enthusiastically rubbing his hands together.

"..."

Seeing Qin Lan's expression, Yu Zheng gave an awkward laugh: "Work should be balanced with rest. Filming is both boring and tiring, so it's good to take a break and have some fun. President Yan even took the actors to karaoke back then."

No one can stay in one place for months on end, working continuously. Actors won't relax and will develop depression sooner or later.

Therefore, many production crews do not care about or even encourage actors to take appropriate rest and entertainment during breaks to adjust their physical and mental state and avoid getting sick or being in poor condition.

Seeing that Yu Zheng had already joined the game, Qin Lan didn't say anything more and let them play by themselves while she went to call Yan Li.

The film crew just started shooting today, so she took the opportunity to tell him about the situation.

Yan Li didn't attend to any social engagements and answered the phone directly: "I just had dinner with some investors and I'm on my way home."

Qin Lan instinctively asked, "Which home?"

"My parents' house."

Ghost letter!
Qin Lan muttered to herself, not going into details, but briefly mentioned the start of filming for "Beauty's Rival in Palace" that day. Yan Li listened for a moment, then said...

"The production team can handle this as they see fit. Tell Yu Zheng to keep a close eye on things. Is he here? I need to have a word with him."

Upon hearing this, Qin Lan left her room and returned to Huo Siyan's room next door. She first asked everyone to stop playing mahjong and turn on speakerphone.

"President Yan is looking for you."

While playing mahjong, Yu Zheng received a call from his boss, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

"Boss, I'll just play for a little while and have some fun."

"What nonsense! Let me tell you, I just finished talking with a few investors, and we've basically reached an agreement on Yi'an's financing. Do you know what our company's valuation is?"

"How many?"

"135 million RMB!"

Yan Li’s voice was filled with excitement: “Huayi’s listing valuation is only around 70 billion, while ours is almost twice that. And this is only the financing stage. After listing and entering the stock market, the valuation will continue to rise.”

Even before the financing, it was almost universally acknowledged that Yi An was more popular than Huayi Brothers, but Yan Li did not expect it to reach this level.

Yi'an's merger was the right move!

The valuation of a cinema chain alone is not worth much now. Even Wanda Cinema, which ranks first in the industry, is only valued at a few billion yuan.

However, after Yi'an Cinemas merged into Yi'an, Yi'an possessed a monopoly model across all channels. The channel value, cash flow, and physical support brought about a complete transformation for Yi'an. Even the losses from cinema investments were transformed into potential losses that could be paid for.

This single step alone quickly maximized Yi'an's investment value.

At the same time, there is the outstanding profit performance and Yan Li's personal business image, as well as strong partners such as Weibo and Tudou.com.

In the eyes of some investors, Yi'an's valuation is even higher, making it the absolute "King of Entertainment Stocks".

Yu Zheng and the others didn't know the intricacies of the situation, but they understood one thing.

135亿估值，1%的股份就是1.35亿，0.5%的股份就是6750万，0.1%的股份也有1350万。

Getting shares in the initial public offering (IPO) is a sure way to make a fortune. If you can secure 1% or even close to 1%, you'll become a billionaire overnight…

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

P.S.: I checked a lot of information about Yi An's data and studied AI several times. 135 billion is at least not much, and is even quite conservative.

You wouldn't believe it until you calculate it; Yi'an's advantages are truly overwhelming. A company like this appearing in the capital market is practically synonymous with a miracle stock; it can't be analyzed using ordinary logic.
However, a book cannot disregard logic, and considering the pacing issue, I have opted for a conservative estimate. I hope everyone understands.

Researching took a bit of time, so I'll make up for the missing updates tomorrow. (PS: This chapter was written after it was published, and I'm not charging for it.)
(End of this chapter)