Chapter 557: Japan's 5th largest film company acquired
Chapter 557: Japan's Fifth Largest Film Company
Jiujiusuo also knew the purpose of his group being here, but he still replied: "Mr. Yang, the shareholders and management of our Nikkatsu Film Company hope to cooperate with you."
"Then how do we cooperate?" Yang Wendong also knew that such a large-scale merger and acquisition could not be successful in just a few words, even for him as the boss;
Many times, the buyer or seller does not decide what to choose before entering the market, but decides during the negotiation. If it is cost-effective to sell, then sell it; if it is not cost-effective, then sell part of it; there may even be no cooperation in buying or selling.
Jiujiuzuo smiled and said, “Mr. Yang, Hong Kong films have been doing better and better in Asia in recent years, and some of them have also gained some fame in Japan, especially Mr. Bruce Lee. Many young people in Japan also like him.
Nikkatsu Films is the fifth largest film company in Japan, with 500 theaters in many cities in Japan. As long as we cooperate, we can definitely make Bruce Lee popular in Japan, and even other Hong Kong films can become popular in Japan."
Yang Wendong smiled calmly and said, "Mr. Juejiu, you are right. Bruce is very famous, so from a business perspective, why should I cooperate with you instead of several other film companies? I can even cooperate with several at the same time."
In fact, Li Xiaolong is not that famous in Japan now, but according to the original historical progress and his current greater investment, it will only take one or two years for him to become popular in Japan and even Europe and the United States;
As long as someone becomes popular, they will naturally have a say whether in Japan or the United States, and this is also the basis for them to cooperate with Hollywood giants in the future.
Jiujiu replied: "Mr. Yang, what you said is true, but it is impossible for other film companies to sincerely promote Mr. Bruce Lee and Hong Kong films. For any Japanese film company, local films are the core, and foreign films are just a supplement.
However, we at Nikkatsu Films can do our best to promote Hong Kong films into the Japanese market, from publicity to filming cooperation, etc., we can even consider our actors going to Hong Kong for filming;
We are really sincere about this cooperation, and we hope Mr. Yang will seriously consider it. "
After saying that, he and several people around him bowed nearly 90 degrees.
"Your idea coincides with mine, but such cooperation is still too risky for me." Yang Wendong said slowly: "But I am also sincere in cooperating with you, so why not let me acquire Nikkatsu;
Not only can you keep your current position, but you can also get a certain salary increase, and Nikkatsu's shareholders can cash out and leave. In addition, many of Nikkatsu's film shooting departments can have new funds to shoot new films. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?"
In the 70s, for mainlanders, it is estimated that few people knew about Nikkatsu in the 14 billion people in the past, but many people have seen their works, especially the works like Teacher.
Of course, strictly speaking, Nikkatsu is one of the originators of these films.
In the 60s, Japanese films were impacted by free TV dramas, and film companies were in trouble. Nikkatsu, one of the top five film giants, was the first to be hit. In addition, the internal filming performance was not very good for several years, so it fell into a great life-and-death crisis.
In order to save itself, in 1971, Nikkatsu had no choice but to degenerate into making some special films. It managed to survive, but its reputation was ruined and it eventually fell into decline.
Since Nikkatsu has not yet fallen into self-degradation, this year is a very suitable time for Yang Wendong to take action before it collapses. His core target is its 500 cinema chains across Japan.
Jiujiuzuo naturally knew the true intention of this Hong Kong consortium. Although he was tempted, he still asked, "Mr. Yang, we don't doubt your financial strength, but we are indeed in great difficulty in filming. Many of the filming departments have been sold."
"I know that if I take over, I will restart the filming of Nikkatsu Film Company." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "But I can't say exactly what to shoot. I can only say that I have some general ideas;
In the early stage, Nikkatsu Films will mainly cooperate with Hong Kong films in various aspects. In addition, you can also reshoot some Hong Kong films, which may also be successful in Japan."
Yang Wendong didn't watch many Japanese movies in his previous life, and Japanese culture itself is relatively closed, except for cartoons;
However, there is a basic logic in the film industry. Just like music, you can buy the copyright of a hit movie from other places and then remake it. This will basically be successful, especially in places with regional influence from Chinese culture, where it is easy to achieve results.
Of course, his current target is still the cinemas. It is enough for those filming departments to survive. Also, they are not allowed to shoot ML movies, which will ruin their future.
"Remake of a Hong Kong movie?" Jiujiuzuo seemed to be thinking about something.
In fact, whether it is promoting Hong Kong movies, Bruce Lee or remakes, etc., he does not want to do it unless he has no choice. If he really does so, he will only become a joke in the Japanese cultural circle;
But Nikkatsu Films has no choice. If there is no more profit point, it will really have to lay off employees. Once layoffs are made, it will fall into a death loop, which is something that neither shareholders nor management want to see.
Yang Wendong added: "The price is easy to talk about. I will definitely give you shareholders a satisfactory price. Those who want to leave Nikkatsu's management can leave freely, and those who don't want to leave can stay.
There will be a 5% salary increase in the initial stage, and when the company achieves positive profits in the future, there will be a salary increase of about 5%-10% plus bonuses.
You know my situation in Hong Kong. It is not a problem to acquire you. As long as you agree, the check will be in your hands soon, and many banks in your country can bear the letter of credit. "
"We are completely confident in Mr. Yang's financial resources." Jue Jiuzuo said quickly and apologetically.
Yang Wendong added: "Mr. Juejiu, my time in Japan is limited. I hope our transaction can be completed as soon as possible."
"Yes, we understand." Jue Jiuzuo replied.
After a brief greeting, Jue Jiuzuo took the Nikkatsu people away, leaving only Li Xiaolong and Zou Wenhuai in the hotel.
Li Xiaolong asked: "Mr. Yang, I need to shoot a movie in Japan?"
"No, just like Hollywood treats you, our future focus is to build the popularity of Hong Kong Chinese stars in Japan. We will not focus on cultivating Japanese stars, unless they are really capable." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "But the possibility is also very low. I watch Chinese and Japanese Katsu just for their theaters."
In the past, Nikkatsu failed after 10 years of hard work. It may be because Japanese movies are not that good. He just needs to use the property resources and publicity resources that Nikkatsu has developed over decades. Zou Wenhuai nodded and said, "Yes, Nikkatsu's film company is still very good. Once we get it, it will be much easier to promote Hong Kong movies in Japan, especially Xiaolong's movies. They can be broadcast directly after Japaneseization, or as Mr. Yang said, remake classic Hong Kong movies."
"Yes, that's right, but we have to buy it first and talk about the future later." Yang Wendong added: "Old Zou, you have to work harder during this period. Reach an agreed price with Nikkatsu's current board of directors as soon as possible. If we acquire it, it will be of great significance for us to enter the overseas entertainment market."
"I understand, Mr. Yang. I have been negotiating with them for a long time. Your coming in person this time is to give them the final choice." Zou Wenhuai said with a smile.
Changxing Film Company had already contacted Nikkatsu a long time ago, and they had discussed various details for a long time. Now that the boss is here, all they have to do is wait for the final decision.
Zou Wenhuai quickly brought his team to Nikkatsu for the final negotiations. Yang Wendong naturally did not participate in such details, but came to a suburb of Tokyo, where there was a 12-story office building with the Japanese name of Changxing Group at the top.
"Mr. Yang, this is the headquarters of Changxing Group in Japan. Many of the group's businesses in Japan are conducted here." A man in a suit introduced to Yang Wendong: "Changxing Industry, Honor Electronics, and Changxing Culture are all here."
"Changxing Industrial should be just a sales point in Japan, right?" Yang Wendong asked casually.
Changxing Group has now grown to a scale where it has branches in many countries, carrying out different businesses, but most of them are sales outlets.
The man in a suit in front of you is Tian Zhonghao, a Chinese from Hong Kong who immigrated to Japan. However, he is very capable and eventually joined Changxing Group and became one of its leaders in Japan.
Tian Zhonghao replied: "Yes, our group's main business in Japan is also sales. Only Honor Electronics and Changxing Culture have recruited in Japan to engage in electronic technology research and development, or comic content production and other businesses."
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, let's go up and take a look."
"Please come this way." Tian Zhonghao said quickly.
The group then walked around the building and looked at the various departments;
There is nothing good about Changxing Industrial. It is purely selling in Japan and has not invested money in channels. Instead, it simply cooperates with local distributors. This is also the cooperation model with most countries.
Even Yang Wendong, a time traveler with a vision for the future and abundant financial resources, cannot build global channels. He can only achieve small-scale channel guarantees by investing in Walmart, Auchan, building his own Carrefour supermarkets, etc.
Honor Electronics has a dedicated technical department in Japan, and its R&D direction is also motors, compressors, electronic controls, etc. Yang Wendong doesn't understand the technologies involved very well, so he only has a general understanding of them.
Changxing Culture, on the other hand, has many painting talents in Japan and undertakes many of the businesses of Hong Kong Changxing Culture;
"Mr. Lin, have we collaborated with some freelance cartoonists in Japan?" Yang Wendong asked after reading some comics. "The comics here should all be from Hong Kong, right?"
Lin Bailun, who was in charge of Changxing Culture in Japan, immediately replied, "Yes, Mr. Yang, at present we are only responsible for the comic business in Hong Kong. We have also talked to Japanese comic masters, but they are not willing to cooperate with us."
A lot of Japanese culture is relatively closed, and generally tends to prefer local cooperation, especially in the cultural field. Many masters of Japanese comics will not cooperate with companies outside of Japan. If it's from the United States, it might be easier to deal with, but if it's from other places, it will probably become a joke in the industry.
"Well, okay, take your time." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Let's do our own business first. How are the sales of Dragon Ball in Japan?"
The comic "Dragon Ball" began production after Yang Wendong, Wu Hailin and others proposed it more than a year ago. It took some time to gradually produce the initial stories and character portraits, and then it was officially released. The first release was also in the Chinese and Japanese regions.
Lin Bailun said: "Mr. Yang, the Dragon Ball comics are doing very well in Japan. Last week's sales were 12.1, and it has entered the top in Japan. This is the first time in many years that a Japanese comic has achieved this result."
"Very good, keep up the good work." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
In the original history, Dragon Ball became very popular only after the martial arts tournament came out in the later period, but before that, its performance could not be said to be bad, at least it was one of the higher rankings;
Since it is not super popular now, Yang Wendong does not care too much about it. It is enough to know about it. When it becomes really popular one day, it will not only bring huge economic benefits, but also may be of great help to many industries of Changxing Group.
After staying in several branches in Japan for a few days, Yang Wendong returned to the Imperial Hotel again to receive Jue Jiuzuo and others.
"Mr. Juejiu, what are your thoughts?" Yang Wendong asked with a faint smile.
Jiujiu bowed and said, "Mr. Yang, our board of directors has agreed to your acquisition. The price is 16 billion yen, but after the acquisition, you will need to assume a total debt of 55 billion yen.
In addition, you need to ensure that all employees of Nikkatsu Films can continue to have stable jobs in the next two years."
"Funding wise, it's fine, as long as the property management confirms that there are no problems." Yang Wendong readily agreed, "But I won't guarantee that all employees can have stable jobs. If there are many people who are just slacking off, especially the management, they will have to leave.
But don't worry, as long as the opinions of the senior management are not too different from mine, they can stay for now."
When acquiring an overseas company, it is generally necessary to ensure stable employment. This is not only a requirement of the other party's company, but also the local unions and government will have such requirements. So it's okay to agree to it, but it's 100% impossible. In this way, losing money is a small matter, but I am afraid that many people will really slack off, especially when the boss changes his nationality, you have to guard against this.
After thinking for a moment, Jue Jiuzuo said, "That's fine, but you also have to ensure the stability of ordinary employees. They can't just lose their jobs."
"Okay, within two years, I will not lay off ordinary employees, no matter what level they are, even if they have poor abilities, as long as they have a good attitude." Yang Wendong nodded and said.
Since 1910, some Japanese companies have implemented the lifetime employment system, which gradually became popular after the economic boom in the 50s.
This model is almost unique in the world and was of great help during Japan's period of rapid economic development. Since Yang Wendong came to Japan to invest, he naturally had to adapt to the local situation.
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(End of this chapter)