yellow paper
A few days after the guests from China left, Eugene welcomed another visitor from afar.
“Nice to meet you. This is Matthias Doffner.”
“You have come a long way. Nice to meet you.”
At the request of Doffner, a German journalist and businessman who had informed him of his visit to New York two days ago, Eugene wanted to meet him at least once, so he gladly invited him to the penthouse of the Plaza Hotel, which he used as his home.
“You say you’re a good friend of President Donald Trump, but you don’t seem to go to Trump Tower these days, do you?”
Doffner asked with a smile.
“It’s probably because it’s not a good place to live these days. I have to check my identity to enter my house, so it’s annoying.”
“I guess so. But isn’t there something special about Donald these days?”
“I do not know? Have you heard anything?”
“There was a story about Europeans that they had a goal.”
“is that so? It’s the first I’ve heard of it.”
I heard something about Trump supporting the far-right Marie Le Pen in the French elections, but I didn’t want to talk to this man.
That’s because Doffner is the CEO of Axel Springer, the publisher of the infamous Bild, and former editor-in-chief of the daily The Belt.
Talking to him should keep in mind the fact that he can be knighted on a belt or built in any way.
In particular, considering the atrocities that Bild has done so far, he had to be prepared to post articles that had nothing to do with his intentions.
“What does Eugene think about the French presidential election?”
Perhaps because he was a journalist, Doffner kept asking questions.
“I think there is a high chance of very unexpected results.”
If this is enough, I can tell you anything.
“Five! It seems that Eugene always thinks differently from other people. After all, it looks like Le Pen will win, right?”
“I do not know? Who will be victorious will be known by the results of that day. But whoever becomes president will certainly be a victory for the French people.”
Eugene smirked and did not give the correct answer.
If Le Pen were elected president, Europe could fall sharply to the far right, so at this point the world’s attention was focused on the French presidential election.
In this situation, it is not known what kind of ripple effect Eugene’s words will have from his mouth, who have shown the value of accurate predictions many times.
Even if it was not a Doffner, Eugene had no intention of revealing her opinion to the public.
Doffner continued to ask questions and tried to bring up a new story from Eugene.
But Eugene skillfully spoke up and didn’t say anything important.
“I know. So I hope you can answer this one thing with certainty.”
Unlike before, Doffner asked with a slightly stiff face.
“Why is Eugene buying Axel Springer SE stock?”
To ask this one question, the heads of some of the world’s leading media companies have crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
“Axel Springer SE is a very attractive publishing company. From my point of view, as an investor in a variety of companies, it seemed like the coolest investment in Germany.”
Still smirking, Eugene answered. I had already expected this question to come up when I heard that he was coming.
And if it’s a different topic, I was able to answer this question honestly enough.
Seriously, because Eugene thought Axel Springer SE was the most attractive company in Germany.
Axel Springer SE is the publisher of Bild, Germany’s most influential media.
On the other hand, Bild magazine is a tabloid newspaper with global fame (?) along with The Sun of the UK, and boasts the largest circulation in Germany as well as Europe.
As can be seen from the phrase “Together with the Sun”, Bilt is a representative medium of the so-called Chirashi, a yellow press that freely releases absurd articles and absurd speculations through anonymous sources rather than an opinion paper.
Bild, which uses sensational and provocative articles and pictures of naked women as its biggest weapon, has a whopping 12 million readers in Germany alone, and has a huge impact on German politics, regardless of its reputation as a yellow press.
Founded by Axel Springer, who was a staunch anti-communist, Bildt magazine attracted people’s attention with its sensational articles, and politically it has been anti-communist, pro-American, and conservative.
Mainly enjoyed by the low-educated and low-income groups, this yellow newspaper has been a great help to the conservative government by publishing political articles without hesitation.
“Don’t you think the publishing press has entered a twilight period for investment?”
“Is that so? Other newspapers may not know it, but it’s not built.”
Even in the era of the Internet, the traditional media such as newspapers and broadcasting still have an influence on public opinion.
And this is especially true for media that publish sensational and provocative articles, such as Bild and The Sun in the UK.
No matter how many fake news and biased voices are rife on social media, they cannot cross the line with Built and The Line, which have been running a huge business with nonsense for a long time.
Bild is the place to publish articles without any shame that would never have been published in theoretical journals such as ‘evidence that Mexican farmers have corpses of alien babies’.
In other words, it can be said that it is a place where experts of nonsense are gathered.
The Korean media, which are said to be rapidly becoming sensational in recent years, are far too modest compared to these European yellow media.
“The companies Eugene has invested in so far are known to have shown considerable results in a short period of time. But do you think it’s difficult for our Axel Springer to achieve that?”
Doffner did not accept Eugene’s words meekly.
“The influence that Bildge has will not change for the foreseeable future. Although the number of copies sold is temporarily decreasing and the number of readers is decreasing, I think that there is a greater potential for development than in the past if we only look for business avenues in the future.”
“So you’re saying it’s just for investment purposes?”
“Sure. It is, of course, an investment. But there is no reason to use the simple formula.”
“Aren’t you holding too many shares for investment purposes?”
Over the past year, Eugene has been slowly collecting shares in Axel Springer, and by the time Doffner visited, he already owns close to 43%.
This is nearly equal to the 42.6% owned by Mrs. Sprinker, widow of Axel Springer SE founder Axel Springer SE, and the 2.8% owned by Doffner.
As the stock owner of Axel Springer SE, Eugene’s purchase should be of sufficient concern.
“It’s a pretty big stake. If you add up my stake and Mrs. Springer’s stake, it’s close to 90%. That’s enough to make Axel Springer SE a private company through a tender offer.”
Eugene frankly revealed her intentions. Anyway, I was thinking of setting up a place to negotiate with my opponent at any time.
“In the end, it is more like a purchase than a simple investment.”
“If we work together, all of Axel Springer SE’s publications will no longer have to go unnoticed by shareholders.”
“I’ll have to look into your eyes instead.”
“I have no intention of forcing anything. I don’t think there will be any benefit from that.”
“I still don’t understand your intentions.”
“Think of it this way. What if I invest another $10 billion in Bilt and make it the most influential newspaper in France?”
“Oh! That’s the funniest story I’ve ever heard.”
Doffner said with a smirk.
Axel Springer SE is Germany’s largest media group, but its market cap is not that great.
When converted to the price of the shares Eugene purchased, the market cap is less than $6 billion.
If Eugene invests $10 billion in this, he will be able to run as many businesses as Doffner wants.
Moreover, Doffner had to welcome Eugene’s suggestion to make Bilt magazine a powerful newspaper in France.
It may be the fact that Germany and France have traditionally been at odds, but it is also because France is almost the only European country where the yellow press has not been able to establish a foothold.
In the French press, it is difficult to find a press that publishes sensational articles such as Germany’s Bild, Britain’s The Sun, and the Daily Mail.
Whether it’s Le Monde, who represents the left, or Figaro, who represents the right, the main focus is on the theory.
Even during an important election period, it is difficult to find provocative articles, and there are places that maintain such reverence that they do not even include cartoons in newspapers.
“If you don’t know anything else, the built-in paper in France is quite appealing.”
At Eugene’s words, Doffner is virtually in disappointment. He seems to think that the $10 billion Eugene promised is enough to show the old-fashioned French people the taste of yellow media.
“But I want to know what Eugene is thinking.”
As a journalist who has led leading newspapers for decades, Doffner wasn’t full of greed enough to rush back and forth just because a delicious bait was thrown.
“Whoever wants to own a press company thinks the same. In the end, it’s an influence.”
“okay. It’s an influence.”
Eugene’s candid answer made Doffner more convinced.
Yes. Newspapers from around the world have a tremendous influence on society regardless of the size of the company.
No media outlet simply mechanically publishes the opinions of members of society.
In any newspaper, it is rather close to the essence of projecting the thoughts and philosophies of internal members to the outside through the paper.
And the more subscribers the newspaper has, the greater the influence.
“We must use our influence in a way that will benefit the German people.”
“Of course. All the funds I invest will be in a direction that will benefit the German people. Even if you don’t know anything else, I can promise you one thing for sure. Is it not that foreign investment cannot be accepted?”
Of course, Eugene is well aware that this is not possible.
Originally, Bildji was destined to be acquired by American private equity firm KKR about three years from now.
There’s nothing wrong with getting your hands on it beforehand.
20 years after the death of the founder, Axel Springer, and his widowed wife, Mrs. Now is the time to slow things down.
“It is difficult for me to say for sure what Mrs. Springer will think, but there is no problem in doing business with Eugene, American or Korean.”
Doffner answered with a satisfied face.