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Chapter 132: 132: Not a Single Percentage Point Less
Chapter 132: 132: Not a Single Percentage Point Less
Chapter 132: Chapter 132: Not a Single Percentage Point Less
“What! He’s actually a shareholder of Wan Da Film and Television!”
“How is that possible! He’s just some unknown kid!”
“Mr. Fang, you’re not joking with us, are you?!”
It’s no wonder everyone was so shocked.
Those present were all big shots in the film industry, and they all knew how precious shares in a Wan Da subsidiary were.
Every big shot here, without exception, not only desired shares in a Wan Da subsidiary but also had the money.
Yet, they had nowhere to buy them even if they wanted to.
The head honcho of Wan Da, Wang Dalin, held the shares tightly in his grasp, treasuring them even more than his own son.
Now Fang Pengtao had suddenly revealed that some unknown kid was a shareholder of Wan Da Film and Television; it was bound to shock them.
However, Wu Jing, after his initial shock, showed a dawning realization.
He finally understood why Xu Yang’s single phone call could make Fang Pengtao contact him about discussing “War Panther” film scheduling and screenings, and why, during the premiere of “War Panther,” Fang Pengtao showed Xu Yang such a respectful attitude.
It turned out it was all because Xu Yang was a shareholder of Wan Da Film and Television.
“Do you think I would joke about something like this with you?”
Fang Pengtao glanced indifferently at Bi Guanghui, the head of Starlight Film and Television.
It was precisely Bi Guanghui who had just claimed that Fang Pengtao was joking.
This left Fang Pengtao quite displeased.
“Mr. Fang, I misspoke.” Starlight Film and Television boss Bi Guanghui smiled sheepishly.
“Mr. Fang, may I ask, what is Xu Yang’s background exactly? What’s his story?” Xue Zhanhua inquired.
He felt the situation was getting trickier.
Shares in Wan Da Film and Television weren’t something just anyone could obtain.
He needed to clear up Xu Yang’s identity to know how to deal with it.
It was better not to offend someone like that, if possible.
“Sorry, but I can’t disclose the background of our company’s shareholders; otherwise, I wouldn’t be fit to be the CEO,” Fang Pengtao said lightly.
In fact, he didn’t know Xu Yang’s background either.
All he knew was that the shares were transferred to Xu Yang by a major shareholder, the president of the Southwest Chamber of Commerce.
As for why the president of the Southwest Chamber of Commerce decided to transfer shares to Xu Yang, that was unknown.
He hadn’t pried into it; such transactions among shareholders were not something for an employee like him to meddle with.
If he inquired rashly and displeased a shareholder, trouble could arise, potentially costing him his position.
“Alright then.” Xue Zhanhua, feeling helpless, pondered for a moment before continuing, “Mr. Fang, even if he is your shareholder at Wan Da Film and Television, asking for thirty percent of the investment shares is too much. We don’t have much left.”
Fang Pengtao asked, “I can’t do much about this matter. What would you like to do?”
Xue Zhanhua thought for a moment then said, “I think we can negotiate with him, explain the situation, and ask him to give up some shares. Leave him with five percent; five percent for one person is already quite a lot.”
Fang Pengtao responded, “I do hope you can achieve that.”
Although he couldn’t do much, he was more than willing to let Xue Zhanhua negotiate with Xu Yang to relinquish the majority of his shares. If they could secure more shares for Wan Da Film and Television without offending Xu Yang, why not?
“Director Wu, what do you think?” Xue Zhanhua’s gaze fell on Wu Jing.
In the matter of investment shares, Wu Jing certainly had to retain a certain percentage, with the rest being allocated amongst the others present.
Even though Wu Jing’s say was minimal, considering he was the director and lead actor of “War Panther 2,” and since Xu Yang and Wu Jing had some rapport, it was necessary to seek Wu Jing’s opinion.
“When I was shooting ‘War Panther,’ Xu Yang invested twenty million during the toughest times. Without that, ‘War Panther’ would have fallen through. He is my benefactor, as well as my savior. I won’t be ungrateful and go against my conscience. I can’t do much in this affair either. If you can persuade Xu Yang to give up the shares, I have no objections,” Wu Jing stated.
Wu Jing always felt deeply grateful towards Xu Yang.
Without Xu Yang, he wouldn’t have reached where he was today.
He couldn’t possibly do something that would harm Xu Yang.
That means his power is weak; otherwise, he would certainly have insisted on sticking to the contract despite any opposition.
As for discussing with Xue Zhanhua and letting Xu Yang give up his shares, he really was powerless.
“Fine, as long as you have no objections, that’s good enough for me,” said Xue Zhanhua with a nod, standing up to leave.
He found another teahouse and then had his assistant go invite Xu Yang.
Before long, the assistant had brought Xu Yang over.
After the assistant introduced Xue Zhanhua, he exclaimed, “President Xu is truly a young and promising talent.”
He had heard from Wu Jing that Xu Yang was a young man.
He had thought that Xu Yang must be at least twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old.
He didn’t expect Xu Yang to be so young.
He looked like a college student who had just graduated.
“President Xue flatters me,” Xu Yang replied politely.
“President Xu, I wanted to meet with you to talk about the investment quota for ‘War Panther 2’,” Xue Zhanhua got straight to the point.
“Go ahead,” said Xu Yang.
“You signed a priority investment agreement with Wu Jing for a thirty percent investment quota, which is too much. With so many other companies involved, there’s not much left for us,” Xue Zhanhua said.
“What do you mean by that…?” Xu Yang asked.
“Could you consider giving up a part of your investment quota?” Xue Zhanhua asked.
“How much?” Xu Yang pressed further.
“Give up twenty-five percent; you keep five percent for yourself. With so many film and television companies scrambling to invest, having a five percent share is already quite high,” Xue Zhanhua said.
“President Xue, what you’re doing is practically robbery,” Xu Yang said with a cold laugh.
He knew that a thirty percent investment quota was very high.
If they had asked him to give up just a little, less than five percent, he might have agreed.
It could be seen as a gesture of goodwill, to network with the big shots of the film and television companies, and also to avoid giving Wu Jing too much trouble.
But they asked for twenty-five percent right off the bat, leaving only five percent for him.
That really was akin to robbery.
In that case, he wouldn’t concede even one percentage point.
After all, he had signed a priority investment agreement with Wu Jing and held the initiative; he wasn’t afraid of these people.
“President Xu, you can’t say it like that. For a blockbuster movie like this, many companies are eyeing it, and it’s rare for one person to hold a thirty percent investment share. No one can swallow that much. By taking so much, others get less, which means you’re denying others the opportunity to make money, which can provoke widespread anger,” Xue Zhanhua said mildly.
“If that’s the case, then we have nothing more to talk about,” Xu Yang said, standing up to leave.
“President Xu, I advise you to consider carefully. You may have signed a priority investment agreement with Wu Jing, but such agreements are easily circumvented in our eyes. Keeping five percent for you is already quite generous. If you don’t compromise, you might end up with nothing at the end,” Xue Zhanhua’s words carried a threat now.
For the sake of money, he didn’t care whether Xu Yang was a shareholder of Wan Da Movies or not.
“President Xue, are you serious?” Xu Yang asked.
“Of course, there’s no doubt about that,” Xue Zhanhua replied.
“I remember that if a movie runs into legal disputes, it can’t be green-lit, right?” Xu Yang inquired.
“What are you getting at?” Xue Zhanhua’s face immediately darkened.
“My point is, not a single percentage point less than thirty percent of the investment quota; otherwise, ‘War Panther 2’ won’t be shot,” Xu Yang dropped the statement and left straight away.
“Son of a bitch, he actually dares to show me attitude!” Xue Zhanhua’s face turned livid.
It had been many years since anyone had dared to talk to him like that.
Xu Yang was just a young upstart. Even if he was a shareholder of Wan Da Movies, so what?
Did he really think he, a big player in the film industry, was a pushover?