Chapter 409 Merger and Acquisition of ITV

Regarding the London subway explosion that occurred on July 7, Barron did know about it in advance. After all, in his previous life, this matter was also reported in the media at length.

But as for the specific time it happened, because he was in China at the time, he didn't remember it too clearly. He just remembered that such an incident happened recently.

Therefore, before that, he really didn't have many ways to stop it - or in other words, it would be too far-fetched to stop it by force.

First of all, he did not remember the specific time. In addition, this incident was mainly planned and implemented by local religious elements in England, and bombs were detonated in more than one place that day - including suicide bombs.

Therefore, if he wants to prevent it in advance, Barron first needs to cooperate with the relevant British departments, including the intelligence and police departments. So where is the source of the information?

Also, because these participants are themselves immigrants with British status, if we don’t know who specifically participated and we don’t know the specific time of the action, even if the security is strengthened to avoid it happening on this day, then the other party will always do it later. You will find opportunities to do it - there is no way to guard against thieves for a thousand days.

In this case, Barron can only try to ensure the safety of the people around him, and the people around him often don't need to take the subway, at least during the rush hour on weekdays.

In addition, it is through this incident that I can gain benefits for myself.

For example, Protector Security Company uses this to obtain more government security orders.

…

"As for ITV, their board of directors has approved our acquisition plan. The only thing that needs to be considered now is whether the regulatory aspect will allow this acquisition..."

In the conference room of SEM Group, the person who explained to Barron about SEM Group's acquisition of ITV was a tall and beautiful woman in white professional attire who looked quite neat.

Her facial features are exquisite, her smile is contagious, and her tone is full of confidence:

"Although the BBC and Sky TV have been launching various public attacks on our acquisition, judging from the behavior of the British Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), our acquisition this time will not be too hindered."

"How did you arrive at this opinion?"

After hearing Barron's question, this beauty, Joe Harriman, whom Barron had mentioned to Fergal Hayden, CEO of SEM Group, took out a folder, handed it to Barron, and said:

“This is the data related to the acquisitions between British local companies reviewed by the CMA in the past five years. Among these acquisitions, the CMA has not vetoed any mergers and acquisitions by companies other than the top two in the industry, and unless it is After the merger and acquisition, more than 40% of the British market will be occupied. Even the second-place acquisition in the industry has not been vetoed... In fact, more than 80% of the rejections of antitrust investigations occurred when the acquiring company was When it comes to foreign investment, the merger and acquisition between our SEM Group and ITV will not have an overwhelming advantage in the market share of the top two companies in the industry, that is, the BBC and Sky TV. It can only be said to be basically the same as them, and It is not subject to the CMA’s strict scrutiny.”

I have to say that judging from today's performance, Fergal Hayden's previous evaluation of Joe Harriman was not exaggerated.

SEM Group’s acquisition of ITV this time will be carried out in the form of cash and stocks. The current market value of ITV is about 3.3 billion pounds. The share price of Summit Media has recently stabilized at around 30 pounds, and the market value has exceeded 3.75 billion pounds. Higher than ITV.

SEM Group will acquire ITV for £3.6 billion, after a partial premium.

The payment was made in the form of £2.4 billion in cash and £1.2 billion in shares.

For the cash part, in addition to SEM using its profits in recent years, it also issued 2 billion pounds of corporate bonds to the public to complete this acquisition - because of the good performance of a series of variety shows launched, Summit Media's profitability It is still very good, so their corporate bonds are also relatively popular in the market.

In addition, Summit Media will also issue an additional 40 million new shares to ITV shareholders to complete this acquisition.

After this acquisition, SDTV, a subsidiary of Summit Media, will merge with ITV's four channels and use the ITV name and new logo.

The original ITV production department will be merged into Summit Studio.

By then, DS Holdings' shareholding in Summit Media will be reduced to 54.55%, and more than 24% of the shares will enter the hands of the original ITV shareholders.

Indeed, as Joe Harriman said, during the process of SEM Group's acquisition of ITV, the BBC and Sky TV carried out various obstructions, but at best, it caused only a small interference to their acquisition.

Even if Barron's own influence is not taken into account, even under normal circumstances, Summit Media's acquisition of ITV will not be embarrassed by British competition and market management. After all, with the existence of the BBC and Sky TV, they This acquisition cannot be said to have the possibility of monopoly.

After all, SEM Group itself is a British company, and it did not acquire the BBC or Sky TV.

…

"I heard that this bombing was ordered by Al Qaeda and was an act of revenge..."

"It's too scary. Maybe we should leave here first and come back after the matter is investigated clearly. Otherwise, we will always feel uneasy."

At the home of Earl Bute, Barron also met Jenny Bute, who came to London from the United States.

Listening to the women talking about the subway bombings - a week after the bombings, the police finally publicly admitted that the serial bombings in London were suicide attacks.

They also announced that they had identified two of the four suspects.

Peter Clark, head of the Metropolitan Police's counter-terrorism unit, claimed at a press conference that it was a 22-year-old man who detonated a bomb on a subway train between Aldegay station and Liverpool Street station; the man who attacked a double-decker bus He is an 18-year-old man and both are British citizens of Pakistani origin.

What Barron was talking about with Ian Butt was about the listing of Argent Real Estate Group.

Just two days ago, Argent Real Estate Group submitted an IPO application to the London Stock Exchange. Once approved, the listing process will begin. If everything goes well, it is expected to be listed on the main board of the London Stock Exchange in October.

This time, coupled with the cash-out of some shareholders, Argent Real Estate Group is preparing to publicly sell 171 million shares, accounting for 15% of the total equity after listing.

"Are you prepared to subscribe for part of the issued shares? Your Highness the Duke."

"I will consider this matter. After all, I am still very optimistic about the future prospects of London real estate. Maybe Mars Fund or other foundations will subscribe to part of it as a purely financial investment."

Just as Barron was saying these words, he suddenly felt that under the table, in a hidden place out of everyone's sight, there seemed to be a foot touching his calf...

Barron remained calm on the surface and continued to talk with Earl But, but based on the position of the extended foot, he looked at the three women who were chatting in a low voice from the corner of his eye.

First of all, exclude Bonnie. As for the Countess, or...Jenny?

There is no clue from their expressions. They both look like they are immersed in chatting, and from their positions, they can stretch their legs to tease themselves...

Feel the touch, gradually moving up your calf...

"Have you considered where to set the issue price of the stock?"

Barron spoke to Count Bute, bowed slightly naturally, and then took the "troublesome" foot into his hand within the tablecloth...

It starts with silky smoothness, a section of calf wrapped in stockings...

After realizing this, Barron's eyebrows raised slightly. Sure enough, it was her...