Chapter 297 Supor goes public

Ivanta still couldn't understand why Barron was so "obsessed" with Chinese courtyard houses, although she had known that the British Duke had shown interest in Chinese culture on many occasions...

It's rare to spend time with Barron, and it's still in China, unlike in the United States or England, where both are very well-known. With Barron, I don't have to worry about the paparazzi's sneak shots, so Ivan Ta is still in a good mood.

Next, Barron spent a few days traveling around Yanjing with Ivanta, visiting many scenic spots including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.

Ivanta also left many photos in these places...

Many years later, Ivanta was known to the Chinese people under another identity. After several photos of her taken alone in the Forbidden City and the Great Wall were released, many Chinese people saw Ivanta's young appearance in the photos. Only then did I realize that this person had already been to China so early...

After all, she is not like a certain British Duke who can be called "an old friend of the Chinese people". Before that, Ivanta seemed to have no interaction with China...

After being instilled with enthusiasm by Barron, Ivanta left Yanjing with satisfaction and returned to New York on the first-class flight Barron booked for her.

Barron and his team determined the renovation plan for the three courtyard houses after he and the decoration team introduced by Yan Hegui.

According to the plan, the cost of repairing and renovating these three courtyard houses alone is expected to exceed 10 million yuan. Barron also entrusted Yan Hegui to help him pay attention to some classical mahogany furniture from the Ming and Qing Dynasties... After receiving many benefits from the British Duke, Afterwards, Yan Hegui naturally patted his chest and made a promise.

From Yan Hegui, Barron also got another news, that is, the American media giant Rupert Murdoch, the owner of News Corporation, and his wife Wendi Deng have also arrived in Yanjing. He is also planning to buy a courtyard house here. It is said that it is It was his wife Wendi Deng's idea.

However, the courtyard house they were originally going to buy has been purchased by Barron in advance, so they don’t know which one they will choose to buy later... These are no longer things that Barron wants to care about.

But speaking of Murdoch, at this time he has been patiently making arrangements to enter the Chinese media market, and so far, it seems that he has achieved good results.

In 1990, Superboy Li Zekai founded STAR TV. After three consecutive years of losses, in 1993, he sold his equity to News Corporation for US$525 million.

At that time, everyone in the investment community praised Lee's capital skills. It seemed that Murdoch had made a loss-making transaction, and only a few people understood Murdoch's good intentions.

Although STAR TV did not start making profits until 2002, the significance of the acquisition is that it brought Murdoch to the doorstep of China.

Murdoch also built Star Media Group based on STAR TV. It currently holds 37.56% of Phoenix TV and is its largest shareholder.

Moreover, the programs of STAR TV and Phoenix TV have entered Guangdong Province and other places in the Mainland.

As early as three years ago, China Netcom conducted private equity for broadband projects. The "CNC Foundation" established by investment institutions such as News Corporation and Goldman Sachs invested US$325 million to acquire 30.97 million shares of China Netcom at a price of US$10.495 per share.

In Murdoch's view, due to advances in digital technology, including decompression technology, almost all programs that could be broadcast on satellite TV can now be broadcast on broadband. Therefore, investing in broadband is equivalent to investing in the satellite TV transmission network in disguise - the latter At present, it is still an area where the mainland strictly restricts the entry of foreign investment.

After that, Murdoch sent his son James Murdoch, who is also News Corporation's chief vice president in charge of China operations, to join the board of directors of Netcom.

In addition, James is also the CEO of Sky Broadcasting Company.

Last year, China Netcom carried out a series of reorganizations and acquired the equity interests of Jitong Company and Small Netcom. The foreign capital in these companies has not been eliminated.

Barron knows that within this year, China Netcom will be listed on the Hong Kong IPO. Murdoch's original investment in the small Netcom will be converted into shares. By then, News Corporation will hold about 8% of the shares of the listed company.

By then, there is no doubt that News Corporation will sell its programs to the mainland through related transactions in accordance with prevailing market practices.

In fact, in the past ten years, all of Murdoch's actions in Hong Kong have been aimed at entering the mainland.

So far, among the major media giants entering the mainland, the only one that has made achievements in broadband and content is Murdoch's News Corporation.

At this time, it can be said that Murdoch is more valued than Barron in terms of senior management's attention...

After all, News Corporation’s global public opinion reach can be said to be extremely powerful.

Currently, News Corporation has 109 daily newspapers, bi-weekly newspapers and 15 weekly newspapers around the world, with a total weekly circulation of approximately 60 million copies.

The "Sydney Daily News" in Australia, the "New York Post" in the United States and the "Times" in the UK are all Murdoch's industries.

In terms of television media, in addition to Hong Kong's STAR TV and Phoenix TV, he also owns Sky TV in the UK and Fox TV Network in the United States.

His satellite TV markets include the United States, England, South America, Central Asia, India, China and Southeast Asia.

Last October, at the invitation of the State Council Information Office, Murdoch visited China.

At the time, News Corp was trying to expand its business in China, while Chinese media regulators were attempting sweeping market changes.

The big boss in charge of publicity even met with Murdoch and hoped that News Corporation would make greater efforts in promoting "let the world understand China and let China understand the world."

However, Barron understands that from a later perspective, Murdoch's many "efforts" in China will not achieve much results, at least not as strong public opinion as in other countries.

After all, he has been calling for "openness" to everyone, and anyone with a discerning eye can see it. In the United States and Europe, he has become accustomed to using the power of public opinion to incite the public and influence the situation.

Many people even suspect that even his marriage to Wendi Deng has an extremely important factor in opening up the Chinese market.

Similarly, after China's setback, he will also become the main force in discrediting China in the future.

…

After Ivanta left Yanjing, Barron and his party went to the Magic City.

Here, Barron met Mark Blom, CEO of Argos Holdings.

Argos Holdings was established by Argos Retail Group to invest in its Argos department store and Primark clothing chain OEM companies.

"Supor is currently in the process of IPO listing, and is expected to be listed on the China A-share GEM in August. This is also the first company among our partners to be listed."

As Mark said, Argos Holdings currently holds shares in nearly a hundred Chinese companies, with shareholding ratios ranging from 10% to 30%, but more than 80% of the companies are not large in size.

Of course, this is compared with Supor Company, which is already the largest Chinese company in which Argos Holdings holds shares.

Supor Company originally started by producing pressure cookers. In 2002, it entered the small kitchen appliance industry.

As Argos Retail Group promotes its partnership program in Zhejiang Province, Supor Company has also applied to join it.

At that time, Argos Holdings invested 10 million pounds and held 15% of its shares. Supor also received an OEM order from Argos Retail Group to help it produce "Argos" self-operated brand pots and small kitchen appliances.

Before the listing, Supor's shareholding ratio was 55% held by the Su Zengfu family, 15% held by Argos Holdings, and 30% held by other shareholders.

Argos Holdings is the company's single largest shareholder after the Souzel family.

This time Supor's IPO is expected to issue 34 million ordinary shares, accounting for approximately 25% of the total share capital after listing.