Zane Blackwood and his team knew exactly what kind of book publishing company they wanted to buy.
It didn't need to be huge. But it couldn't be a messy company with too many lazy workers. If it was, they'd have to spend way too much time and energy trying to fix it.
The book-selling business in America was a tough, wild world, just like the movies!
There were thousands of publishing companies. Some were tiny and only sold books in one small town. Others were giant and sold books all over the world.
The first company Zane's team looked at was The Black Queen Publishing House.
"Boss," his assistant Alexander said, "Black Queen Press was started in 1982. It's not super old, but it's been growing fast. They work with big, famous publishers like Random House. They have 210 employees and are worth about $32 million."
Alexander was a great assistant. In just a short time, he had learned all the details and laid them out perfectly for Zane.
"Alright," Zane nodded. "Let's go take a look."
Once Zane agreed, Alexander had his team call Black Queen Press to set up a meeting.
When the boss decides to act, the soldiers move first. That's just a smart way to do things.
...
"What?!"
Mitchell Wax, the boss of Black Queen, was overjoyed when he heard the news. "You're saying the 'Mr. Blackwood' who wants to meet is the boss of Wald Pictures? The young billionaire who's worth over a billion dollars?!"
A person's reputation is a big deal.
Zane Blackwood wasn't just some rich guy. He was the wealthiest person under 30 in all of America. He had built his giant company in just two years. He was an idol for countless young people.
Because he was so famous, Zane had quietly hired more bodyguards. He now had a team of eight.
He was afraid of being targeted!
As one of the richest men, he had to have a strong, armed security team protecting him 24/7. Bad guys with bad ideas would definitely take the risk.
"Pull off one big job," those kinds of criminals would think, "and you're either set for life or you're dead!"
Zane had no plan to die young.
...
On the day of the meeting, Zane arrived at Black Queen Publishing and was given a very warm welcome. He sat down with the boss, Mitchell Wax, to talk about buying the company.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Blackwood, for being so interested in our company's future," Mr. Wax said.
"However," he went on, "Black Queen Press is the result of all my hard work. I currently have no plans to sell it."
No plans to sell? Zane thought, hiding a smile. What a lie.
If he really didn't want to sell, he wouldn't have even taken this meeting. This was just a normal game people play when they're trying to get a high price.
"Mr. Wax," Zane said, his voice calm and polite, "as I understand it, you are 72 years old this year. If I can be honest... how many more years do you think you can keep working?"
Zane's eyes narrowed just a little.
"My health is excellent!" Mr. Wax said proudly. "I can eat a large steak in one sitting!"
Zane just shook his head. "But from what my team learned, you were in the hospital for a full week last month... for lung cancer."
Zane's team had done their homework!
"Mr. Wax," Zane said, his friendly smile fading, "let's not play games. If you truly have no plan to sell, I won't say another word. I'll get up and leave right now. But if you are interested, let's have a real, honest talk."
Zane was a billionaire. He had things to do every minute of the day. He didn't have time for silly games.
Mr. Wax saw that Zane was serious. "...Eighty million!" he said. "Mr. Blackwood, if you are willing to pay $80 million, the company is yours."
Zane almost spit out the coffee he'd had that morning. Greedy!
The company was worth $32 million, and this guy was asking for $80 million? He was trying to rip Zane off!
"Hmph." Zane stood up. "Goodbye."
The meeting, of course, fell apart. Even after a few more tries, the old man wouldn't ask for less than $55 million. He clearly saw Zane as a big bag of money.
...
Over the next few days, Zane and Alexander looked at twelve different publishing companies.
The results were... not great.
One company was huge, with 1,300 employees and worth $230 million. It was a famous, respected company.
But the old man who owned that company didn't want to sell to Zane, either.
"Kids, haha," the old man had said. "Let me tell you, I am planning to sell. I want to retire. But I will never sell my life's work to some... some young whippersnapper. Even if you offered me the world, I won't sell to you."
What could Zane do?
"Darn it!" Zane thought. "What a tricky old fox!"
This was the first time Zane had ever been turned down just because he was young.
"An old man with 'principles' can be really frustrating to deal with," Zane sighed.
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