My absurd experiences in North America over the years

Max decided to change his original ideas and even break the long-standing practices of Oaktree Capital.

"The other half is the reason why we continue to maintain contact with Tribune. If this young man really does have extraordinary vision, as Anna's investigation suggests, then keeping half of the shares means we are following in his footsteps."

Even if Li Fu is wrong, the risk to Oaktree Capital is still limited, as they have already locked in substantial profits.

Even in the worst-case scenario, it will still come down to selling off assets. Even if the value shrinks, how much can it go?

Chen Weilun paused for a moment, then said, "But in that case, we will no longer be the major shareholder of Forum Newspapers. Forrest Capital's shares will far exceed ours, and we will no longer have a say."

"That doesn't matter anymore," Max smiled and shrugged. "As long as we're still at the poker table."

Once he makes a decision, he executes it swiftly and decisively—a trait of a successful leader. Others, well aware of this, refrain from offering further opinions, and the meeting quickly concludes.

As the meeting adjourned, Max stopped Anna and said, "Prepare a formal equity transfer agreement for me as soon as possible. According to Option 1, we will sell our half of the equity at a 130% premium. The details of the rights and obligations must be clearly stated, and the closing time, payment method, and legal guarantees must be without any loopholes."

"Okay, I'll go prepare right away," Anna nodded and left.

Max was the only one left in the conference room, sitting at the end of the long table, while the Los Angeles night unfolded outside the window.

He sat in the dark for a while, his mind going over several numbers: $13 billion in face value debt, $3.65 million in holding costs for 18.1% equity, and an exit price of $4.75 million. Selling half of it would yield $2.375 million.

The young man made no mistakes throughout the negotiations; his offer was so precise that Oak couldn't find any grounds for rebuttal, and so precise that he himself didn't have to pay too much of a premium for the deal.

Most importantly, he did not choose to test Oaktree Capital's bottom line by using time costs, but instead made a direct offer.

Such directness and boldness are indeed rare.

Instead of repeatedly probing and negotiating to reach the most appropriate price, the deal worth hundreds of millions of dollars was completed in the most time-efficient way.

He had reason to believe that the young man might actually possess foresight that was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people, and genuinely believed that the Forum newspaper had a bright future. In that case, retaining half of the shares might be the wisest choice he could make in this transaction.

……

Max's reply came sooner than Li Fu had expected.

On Wednesday morning, Anna called Li Fu's office directly. Her words were concise and clear: "Mr. Li, Mr. Max has accepted your first proposal. We are prepared to sell half of our stake in Tribune at a 130% premium. The detailed terms have been sent to your email. Please confirm as soon as possible."

After hanging up the phone, Li Fu immediately dialed the number of Michael Davis, JPMorgan Chase's agent for the Tribune.

"Davis, Oaktree Capital has agreed to sell half of the shares at a 130% premium. I need JPMorgan Chase's legal team to help with a compliance review before the closing."

Davis's voice held a hint of surprise, "It's settled so quickly?"

Oaktree Capital's representative, Carl, had been so assertive at the shareholders' meeting, yet just a few days later, he actually agreed.

"Max is a smart man; he knows when to back down," Li Fu said on the phone, without going into too much detail.

"So what's your next step?" Davis asked.

"I plan to make a major overhaul of the management of the Forum Newspaper Group," Li Fu already had a concrete plan. "We can schedule a time to meet and discuss the details."

"OK, OK," Davis nodded in agreement.

After the two hung up the phone, Li Fu urgently contacted Lina to allocate funds, as Forrest Capital did not currently have sufficient cash on hand.

The cash sources include quarterly dividends from the Chicago CP Hotel Tower and some funds recouped from New York real estate and municipal projects, which together amount to just over $100 million.

Since its opening at the end of the first quarter, the Chicago CP Hotel Tower has seen good sales and rental business due to CP's rising reputation, and some real estate projects and municipal works in New York have also begun to see profits.

However, the timeframe was simply too short. If the Chicago CP Hotel Tower hadn't been basically completed by the end of last year, the projects they undertook in New York would have been nearly completed but unfinished, and in such a short time, they wouldn't even have been able to recoup hundreds of millions of dollars.

The bulk of Li Fu's cash flow actually came from Big Machine Records.

Forrest Capital owns more than 80 percent of Big Machine Records because Taylor Swift is now a rising superstar, her second album Fearless sold very well, and related merchandise is also extremely popular.

A portion of the currently popular Fearless tour has also gone to Big Machine Records, which controls the master tape copyrights.

These combined amounted to over $100 million in 2009, almost half of the cash flow that Forrest Capital could control.

Ultimately, Li Fu produced approximately $2.7 million in cash in a very short time, and the equity transfer of Forum Media was successfully completed in about a day.

Oaktree Capital's stake in the Tribune Media Group decreased from 18.1% to 9.05%, while Forrest Capital increased from 12.85% to 21.9%, officially becoming the largest shareholder of the Tribune Media Group. JPMorgan Chase ranked third with approximately 8% of the shares.

The two parties together hold nearly 30% of the shares, a proportion sufficient to dominate the direction at the shareholders' meeting.

However, what is truly needed for Forum Newspaper Group to escape the shadow of bankruptcy and restructuring is not just a change in shareholding, or even more so, a genuine overhaul of its operations.

Li Fu had experienced the changes in the media era in his previous life and was well aware of the future trends. Therefore, his sweeping reforms of the Forum newspaper were entirely targeted.

On Friday afternoon, the Manhattan sunset outside the window painted the sky blood red.

Li Fu called Thompson into his office. "I need you to make a trip to Chicago for something."

"Mr. Li, please don't be so polite. Just give me your instructions," Thompson said. As Li Fu's direct assistant, Thompson usually handled matters around him and was rarely sent on assignments.

However, he is willing to be assigned any task.

"I need you to investigate something. Ideally, you should spend a week at the Forum Building and talk to the employees there, from the lower to the middle and upper management. I need to know the true state of this company under Max's leadership," Li Fu patted Thompson on the shoulder. "Stagnant companies usually like to deceive their superiors and subordinates. I don't trust anyone else."

What he wanted wasn't the PowerPoint presentations at the meeting, but the honest opinions of the company's employees in private, and Max's true performance since taking office last October.

"I understand," Thompson said without saying more, and left.

The following week, Thompson spent five full workdays in Chicago.

He leaves early and returns late every day, sometimes spending the entire afternoon in the reporters' office area, and sometimes finding a corner in a nearby restaurant to eat while listening to what the employees who come to dine are saying.

He did not have a formal employee status; he only appeared in the office building as a representative of Forrest Capital.

During work hours, he would casually chat with employees at all levels, acting like a friendly neighbor, while in private he would conduct investigations and meet with key figures.

On Friday evening, Thompson returned to New York with a memo that was more specific than he had anticipated, outlining several clear paths leading to the same conclusion.

Mycos and his team have already caused serious negative impacts within this century-old media organization.

The survey record mentioned feedback from more than twenty people. No one deliberately requested anonymity, but the way they spoke carried a sense of caution, as if they were afraid that their words would be spread to places they shouldn't.

If he weren't with Forrest Capital, no one would have told him this.

Thompson's summary mainly focuses on three aspects.

First, more than 20 former colleagues that Max brought from his old company occupied key positions. These people were not familiar with the business of Tribune, but had authority that did not match their qualifications, which greatly reduced the space for collaboration between other departments and different business segments.

Secondly, the management fosters a distinctly exclusive internal culture, a sentiment shared by several female and minority employees in interviews.

When they express their opinions in the meeting room, they are often ignored or suppressed by the meeting moderator in various ways.

Finally, several middle managers mentioned that almost none of the Internet projects led by Max had undergone rigorous feasibility assessments, and the funds were quickly left idle or shut down after being invested.

Many of the decisions made by management during the management process are short-sighted, ignorant, and lack basic due diligence mechanisms.

The above information was compiled into a formal memorandum and laid out on the table during Li Fu's second meeting with Michael Davis.

"Every sentence here is the result of our investigation. I want to replace the Forum with someone who truly understands the media, has talent, and has dreams," Li Fu expressed his thoughts to Davis.

"Do you have a suitable candidate?" Davis basically agreed with Li Fu's approach.

His superiors instructed him to cooperate with Li Fu in all aspects of the Forum newspaper's work, provided that it did not harm JPMorgan Chase's interests. It was just cooperation, so he wouldn't interfere too much.

"Currently, Hartenstein is a good candidate. He did a great job as publisher of the Los Angeles Times, stabilizing the newspaper's base in California. He streamlined the finances and reinvested the savings into the editorial team and digital platform," Li Fu believes Hartenstein is the best candidate, as his decisions are more in line with the future direction of media development.

"Hartenstein? An internal promotion to the top position?" Davis was somewhat surprised.

He thought Li Fu would choose to completely control the Forum Newspaper by appointing someone from outside, but he didn't expect it to be an internal promotion.

"Yes, his vision is perfectly aligned with the future direction of the Tribune. We can appoint Hunter as his deputy. Hunter demonstrated unique operational capabilities during his tenure as publisher of the Chicago Tribune," Li Fu said, having quickly reassessed the relevant executives at the Tribune.

Davis finished flipping through the last page of the memo, paused for a moment, and then asked the most important question, "Are you sure you want to immediately replace the core management team after taking over Tribune?"

This behavior is somewhat radical and could cause a major upheaval for the entire Forum Press Group.

"Yes, we must replace them as soon as possible," Li Fu made up his mind. "No destruction, no construction. The chaos caused by the existing core management team will only become more and more troublesome if we delay."

Davis nodded. "I can only try to get as many votes as possible for you at the shareholders' meeting and the board meeting, but that requires you to attend in person and make a speech at the shareholders' meeting to explain the reasons for the change in a public and fair manner."

"Thank you for your support," Li Fu said, shaking hands in gratitude.

With the support of JPMorgan Chase representatives, the rest was relatively simple.

At the end of August, the Tribune Group held another extraordinary general meeting of shareholders in Chicago.

Li Fu did not prepare a speech, but only brought a summary of Thompson's memo and a PowerPoint presentation.

He stood on the podium and, in less than fifteen minutes, succinctly laid out the problems of the Max team to everyone.

The management team lacks the relevant professional competence for key positions, some internal cultural issues have affected team morale and basic work collaboration, and some projects lacked complete due diligence and feasibility studies before resources were invested.

Since the restructuring of the entire group, its overall revenue has continued to deteriorate, and it has reached the point where it will slowly die if it does not innovate.

Throughout the process, he did not use emotional or impassioned language, but instead delivered his speech by stating the facts.

The shareholders in the meeting room all knew that Oaktree Capital had sold half of its shares, and the speaker was the largest shareholder. The proposed split of Forum Newspaper had failed, and the only way to make it officially operational was to support this young man.

Davis was the first to express his support, and JPMorgan Chase's votes were subsequently finalized. Even Oaktree Capital's representative, Karl, raised his hand in support.

Even if other shareholders objected, the outcome was essentially decided, and they all raised their hands one after another, whether they liked it or not.

Max sat at the end of the conference table, never interrupting or refuting the proceedings.

He knew that this outcome was already predetermined when the investigation report was put on the table. He and his team were entrusted with important responsibilities after the bankruptcy reorganization in part to cooperate with Oaktree Capital's spin-off plan.

If Oaktree Capital steps down and a new leader emerges, his fate at the Forum newspaper will naturally be sealed.

The relevant personnel arrangements were finalized by the shareholders' meeting and the board of directors on the last day of August.

Hartenstein has officially assumed the role of CEO of Tribune.

Li Fu did not write him a detailed reform plan, but only gave him a general direction for the Forum Newspaper, retaining all core assets, increasing investment in digital platforms, and allowing for some layoffs, but not affecting core news gathering and editing capabilities.

The media outlets under the Tribune Group in various regions will continue to operate relatively independently, but business units will be integrated and shared as much as possible.

These fundamental principles cannot be changed in any way.

Before leaving Chicago, Li Fu breathed a sigh of relief; the Tribune Group had finally completed its integration.

The whole process was much more complicated than he had anticipated when he bought the bonds; top-level business thinking and political struggles have some similarities.

They are all "arts" of compromise and the exchange of interests.

Just before boarding, his phone suddenly vibrated.

It was a text message from Taylor Swift; her single "You Belong With Me" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Awards.

She invited Li Fu to attend with him.

------Dividing line------

PS.

Brothers, I didn't expect this book's performance to gradually improve. First of all, I want to thank all the readers for their support.

I have an idea: set an extra chapter requirement. This will motivate me more. The requirement is easy to meet. If I receive 20 yuan worth of gifts in the backend, I will add an extra chapter.

I've already written 6000 words today, so I'll start by expressing my gratitude.

I hope that the remaining readers will continue to support us; one donation from each of them is enough to fuel our passion.