[Chapter 563: Fox on the Brink of Collapse]
Others had choices, but Fox did not. Their boss and William White had a personal vendetta. Even if Fox wanted to support IMAX, it seemed unlikely they would get the chance.
IMAX films were in high demand, but that was irrelevant to Fox. If no one showed interest, they wouldn't care either. This impasse was quite annoying.
"Damn it, doesn't he worry we'll sue him for monopolizing?"
"Cough, sir, that theater chain is under the name of that Asian actress -- the one who bore him two sons. Legally, this chain is not connected to White Films."
"Wow, this guy really knows how to spend big."
Murdoch felt a bit bewildered. He knew exactly how much it would cost to set up over a hundred IMAX theaters. Even with a lot of loans, it was still worth billions.
This bastard really was willing to burn cash.
That Aussie had no clue that the land William White chose was producing great returns. He knew his own situation: money didn't mean much if no one could inherit it. It was impossible to raise a family now, and even having two more sons would be considered a blessing.
"Sir, I think we need to seek help."
Murdoch sighed; he truly regretted it now. He never expected that bastard to be so petty. Hadn't he just slightly undermined him? Why was it still dragging on after all these years? Ugh!
"They're still shorting our stock?"
"Yeah, sir, from Australia to London and even the U.S. They didn't abandon any market. The shorting isn't large in scale, but the impact is severe."
Murdoch started to feel pain in his stomach. Morgan Stanley had already made it clear -- they wouldn't mess with a madman at this time. As they saw it, he better compromise, and if he had a daughter, he should clean her up and send her over.
In the backdrop of economic decline, all conspiracies became a joke. Whoever held more cash would become king. Obviously, William White, who escaped the mud pit, was the rightful king.
Compromise?
For Murdoch, that was out of the question. In a sense, his bad relationship with William White was the reason he could still get help. As long as he hadn't fallen, someone would always lend a hand.
...
Well, William White's position was quite awkward. He belonged neither to the so-called Anglo-Saxon elite nor to the Jewish community. In this either/or world, it was indeed uncomfortable.
Some said, "What do you mean? Isn't your ancestor one who came over on the Mayflower? Totally Anglo-Saxon."
Haha, if his father were still alive. The White family could've counted as such. But as it stood, they barely scraped by.
"Sir, Citibank and Goldman Sachs have started reaching out to News Corp."
"Ugh, is it a case of swapping players? Whatever. Filson, give them a good hit; we're done here."
William White felt completely fed up. Their incessant pestering was annoying. It looked like the traditional old-money families didn't like him, nor did the Jewish consortium. Failing at life like this was really boring.
Filson felt a bit speechless. As the boss's influence grew, more forces began to stir. Trying to develop secretly was absurdly unrealistic.
"Sir, the steel and oil industries are the areas they care about most. Your crossover this time is a bit too aggressive."
"Ugh, Filson, I knew that. I thought as long as I didn't touch the investment banks, they wouldn't care. It seems my thinking was a bit naive. But fine, we don't need to worry about others' opinions now. Since they like digging themselves into holes, let them. I just don't know what price Murdoch will pay."
...
The titans of the investment banks found playing a business battle with William White terribly dull. Once he sensed outside forces intervening, he promptly chose to back off.
His attitude was very casual; they could continue if they wanted. No way were they going to fish in troubled waters.
"Damn it, they're robbing us. If it's like this, I'd rather see Fox go down in my hands; tell them I won't agree."
Murdoch was raging. Instead of finding someone to lend a helping hand, a whole bunch of vampires arrived. If he agreed to those terms, Fox would cease to matter to him.
"Sir, there's also good news. Our negotiations with those consortiums made William White uneasy. Just an hour ago, they completed a buyback."
"What did you say? Why did that happen? If they continue, we could be in big trouble."
"Not sure. The only possibility is that William White doesn't like being taken advantage of."
"That guy really has some personality."
...
What Murdoch didn't know was that over the next week, both Citibank and Goldman Sachs faced massive short selling. Though it lasted only a week, the power of the short funds was massive. By the time these two planned to fight back, William White's funds left the market.
Wall Street gained a new understanding of his pettiness and stubbornness. To make these two suffer, he dumped all his profits from shorting News Corp into the stock market.
This action appeared childish but left the consortiums quite perplexed. William White's losses were minor, while theirs were quite significant.
"Hahaha, you guys know now how tough that little punk is? You're up against someone who doesn't treat money like money; I'm genuinely worried for your future."
"Hey, you guys at Morgan Stanley aren't doing so great either. Is it necessary for you to be so cheerful?"
"Ha, I'm retired now. Besides, he's not targeting us. I'm just curious how your shareholders must be feeling."
Among the big shots, the worst part was this. William White casually tossing a few hundred million into the market without a care was something they simply couldn't afford. They always needed to maximize shareholder interests under any circumstances.
The gathering of the old-timers ended up with no conclusion. William White's actions were merely a warning. If they didn't heed it, there would naturally follow-up measures. In Wall Street, to hurt the investor was just a fact of life with no solutions available.
With the fundamentals looking so poor, several consortiums really struggled. If stock prices touched the concentrated areas of shares, they would face disaster.
Let's not forget, U.S. investors have stop-loss lines. Once they hit that price range, many would have to sell their stocks, even if at a loss; they must sell at the first possible moment.
The reason was simple: those stocks had been mortgaged to banks. And that money had turned into yachts and supercars. Timely selling of stocks meant they could part with those luxuries. If they held onto them, they would end up as negative assets.
*****
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