Chapter 130 - 131 The Companies Situation

Words : 1210 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 130: Chapter 131 The Companies Situation The two had their own criteria for selection: the companies must be local to Los Angeles, easy to manage, They also had to be small micro cap stocks with low stock prices, making them easy to manipulate. Hardy looked around and made up his mind. "Andy, I choose these three companies," Hardy pointed to a few company names and said to Andy. Andy looked at the first one. "A toy company?" Andy was a little surprised why Hardy would choose such a company. "This toy company is not bad. Its stock price is only $0.23. It is located in the suburbs of Los Angeles, with its own factory and production line. Its total valuation is only about $60,000." "And don’t forget that we originally had a toy factory here. The original production workshop still has a batch of machines stored, worth about $20,000. As long as we transport these machines over, we can publicize that we have invested a large amount of money to increase production. The stock price is expected to rise." "Those machines will continue to depreciate if they are left alone. Now is the time for them to play a role." Hardy said with a smile. Andy thought this idea was not bad. It could deal with bad assets and raise the stock price, killing two birds with one stone. Andy then looked at the other two companies and asked, "What about this health product company and this near bankrupt magazine? What are your thoughts on them?" Hardy chuckled. "Let’s talk about this health product company first. The reports say that its product sales are poor, leading to a declining stock price. Look at the product it’s selling, its name is not distinctive, ’Fitness Capsule’, which supposedly makes people healthier after consumption. "The effect is not significant, there is no targeting, and the product positioning is not clear." Andy blinked, "Then what do you think we should do?" Hardy smiled. "Do you know Egypt?" "Of course, isn’t that where the British dug up a lot of gold from ancient tombs?" "The Egyptians have this amazing medicine passed on from the ancient Pharaohs era, it is profound and magical. We can use these magical prescriptions to produce health care products. For example, a medicine that can make men more energetic and powerful. Do you think men will like it?" "There’s another Pharaoh Egyptian health product, which is said to be very good for women’s skin and can delay aging. Do you think women would like it? "Do these medicines sound amazing?" Hardy shook his head. Andy was amazed and said, "Mr. Hardy, you really know a lot about Egypt.". Hardy looked at him strangely. "I have no idea where Egypt is." Andy was speechless. The health product market is enormous, with countless products that can be produced. There are hundreds of them. The US has strict regulations on medicines but is very lax on health products. A health product doesn’t need approval to be marketed, as long as you don’t claim it’s a treatment but a supplementary health product. "Then why did you choose the magazine company?" Andy asked, pointing to the last listed company. When Hardy saw this magazine company, the first thing that came to his mind was a men’s magazine, Playboy. No matter what the original magazine content was, once it was replaced by Playboy, He believed the magazine company would revive immediately. "If the magazine cover features a scantily clad beauty, would you be interested in picking it up and reading it? If it contains many beautiful pictures, would you be willing to pay for it?" "Of course, the magazine content doesn’t have to be vulgar. We can write about celebrity anecdotes, music stars, luxury cars, and the enjoyment of life. In these areas, Hardy and Andy can’t compare. But Hardy’s whimsical ideas are something Andy can’t catch up to. "Sounds interesting," Andy murmured. He thought to himself. If there was such a magazine, would he read it? It seemed he would. Hardy patted Andy on the shoulder. "Andy, gather more detailed information about these three companies, and we will study whether to acquire them. The more detailed the information, the better. I’ll tell Henry to have his intelligence office assist you." Combining the security intelligence department and accounting firm to gather information, Hardy believed they could find more accurate data than others. Leaving Andy’s office, Hardy returned to his room and picked up the phone to call Mayer. Hardy told Mayer about his current situation. There is not enough money on hand. The two movies discussed before either stop one or have Mayer advance the funds. "Hardy, why not give both movies to MGM? I can give you 10% of the profits. As for the female lead in ’To Catch a Thief’, it will still be Ava," Mayer said. This old, cunning fox must see the potential in these two movies to say this. Hardy himself also saw the potential. The movies he picked were all classics with guaranteed box office and reputation. If he agreed with the old fox, he would lose millions. "Mr. Mayer, you might not know that Mr. Sigel has already sold Noah’s Ark Film Company to me. I have merged HD Films and Noah Films, and I want to use these two movies to further establish HD Films’ reputation." Hearing that Hardy had acquired Sigel’s Noah Films, Mayer was surprised. This made HD Films a second tier Hollywood company. "Alright, let’s continue our previous agreement. Each company will cover half. You first give me $1 million, and MGM will advance the rest," Mayer said. "Thank you, Mr. Mayer," Hardy said with a smile. Over the next few days, Andy worked tirelessly to collect information, establish the financial company, and recruit personnel. A week later, he came to Hardy again. "Boss, the information on the three companies has been gathered." Hardy picked up the documents and read them. The toy factory occupies 5 acres, with two production workshops. The original products were plastic bears and dogs. The company was founded in 1935. In the first few years, it was profitable. The owner became complacent, bought luxury cars, gambled, and fooled around with women. Someone instigated him to go public to raise money. Seeing others making crazy money in the stock market, he found a financial company to go public. Initially, he did make some money from the stock market. The owner became even more arrogant and neglected the factory. He indulged in eating, drinking, and playing every day. Later, the war broke out, and materials were scarce. The factory suddenly had no raw materials. Without production, there was no profit. The original workforce of over a hundred people was scattered. The factory barely survived the war. When the material ban was lifted, the owner hurriedly rehired workers to resume production. But after a few years, his toys were outdated, and no one bought them on the market. The warehouse was piled with toys, and the factory was losing money. The owner had no money, and the bank didn’t see his business as promising, so no loans were given. The company was stuck, unable to move forward or backward.

Chapter 130 - 131 The Companies Situation

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