No one could have imagined that a football club takeover issue would reach the floor of the British Parliant and trigger reactions across legal, academic, and political circles.
The controversy surrounding Rupert Murdoch’s attempted acquisition of Manchester United drew attention from many city law firms, an economics professor at Birkbeck College, and ten other economists, who together helped the Manchester United Independent Supporters’ Association (MUISA) draft a formal submission to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
In their submission, it warned that Murdoch’s proposed takeover would be against the public interest. That reference marked the mont when Murdoch’s grand strategy began to unravel. Suddenly, his ambition to beco overnight the dominant force in British — if not European — football rested in the hands of a five-mber Monopolies and rgers Commission (MMC) panel made up of independent and respected figures. Unlike Murdoch’s usual network of political allies, this panel was entirely beyond his influence.
As the MMC began taking public evidence from football authorities, rival broadcasters, politicians, and supporters’ groups, BSkyB’s confidence began to evaporate.
Perhaps the most decisive intervention ca from the Independent Television Commission (ITC), which declared that it would be impossible to enforce safeguards preventing a sports broadcaster that also owned a football club from abusing its dominant position.
At the sa ti, Labour MPs hailed the regulatory scrutiny as a safeguard for "the future of the national ga," protecting it from the destructive divide between super-rich clubs and the rest.
For football fans, the deal was even more alarming. Rumours spread that club chairman Martin Edwards had not even consulted Alex Ferguson, United’s current manager. Across Britain, fans concluded that a Murdoch-owned Manchester United would be disastrous — further polarising wealth within the ga and giving BSkyB excessive power over televised football.
Their fears were confird in the MMC’s 254-page report, published that Friday.
The Commission concluded that no practical safeguards could prevent anti-competitive effects. It ruled that Murdoch’s ownership of United would harm British football, deepening inequality and giving BSkyB undue control over broadcasting rights.
With those findings, the governnt had no choice but to show Murdoch the red card.
Even Pri Minister Tony Blair, despite Murdoch’s political proximity, was powerless in the face of public and institutional opposition. Significantly, the final decision to block the takeover was made without reference to Downing Street, marking a rare and decisive rebuke to one of the most powerful dia moguls of the era.
"That’s all," said Adam Lewis, Richard’s current lawyer from Maddox Capital, as he finished briefing him on everything that had unfolded.
Whether this decision would ultimately lead to a divorce between Murdoch and Blair remained to be seen. But one thing was certain: the dia tycoon would be incandescent after being thwarted in a British takeover bid for the first ti in his career.
The key question lingered: would he bla New Labour?
"More likely, however, Murdoch’s fury would be directed at his own people — at BSkyB’s executives, and at Peter Booth" Richard said.
The ill-judged interview had beco a PR disaster. How could you hope to acquire a football club when you don’t even know the players? Murdoch’s inner circle could already sense the storm coming.
"The worst possible outco for BSkyB, so feared, would be if regulators went further — if the MMC not only blocked the takeover but also ruled that the Premier League could no longer sell broadcasting rights en bloc, potentially declaring BSkyB’s existing £743 million, four-year contract illegal." Thought Adam Lewis.
"But that scenario seems unlikely, right?" Richard asked quietly.
If clubs were suddenly free to sell their own broadcast rights, chaos would follow — a television rights free-for-all that could send costs spiraling out of control. Screening a single crucial Manchester United match could cost £10 million, instead of the current £250,000.
"Whatever it is, the MMC’s ruling was a welco relief," he finally said.
Rupert Murdoch was not new to Richard. He was the man who owned The Sun, and in the early days of Richard’s involvent with Manchester City, he had repeatedly clashed with the press. The papers had often belittled City, portraying the club as small and insignificant. Then ca the "gold digger" scandal, a tabloid storm that many believed had been directed at Richard personally.
Richard wasn’t sure whether Murdoch himself had ever targeted him deliberately, but there was no denying the shift in attention. His recent Champions League triumph had changed everything — suddenly, the dia mogul seed to have turned his gaze toward Manchester United.
"Is there anything else?" Richard then asked.
Since the deal had been blocked by the governnt, everything seed to fall into place as it should — aligning perfectly with what he already knew. Everything was as it should be — for the mont.
"Yes..!"
But then, Lewis’s tone suddenly changed — sharper, heavier than when they had been talking about Murdoch and Manchester United.
The shift made Richard instinctively straighten his back.
Adam Lewis didn’t say a word. He simply reached into his suitcase, pulled out a file, and slid it across the table. The rustle of paper filled the brief silence.
"Read this," Adam said quietly. "You’ll understand what it’s all about."
Richard took the docunt, scanning the first page.
Within seconds, his expression changed — his eyes widened in disbelief.
Everyone knew that by the late 1990s, Wall Street had caught a full-blown case of Internet fever. Investors were eager—almost desperate—to throw money at anything ending with "," often with little regard for whether those companies had real revenue or even a sustainable business model. And Richard was among the early pioneers who joined that wild, exhilarating ride.
WebGenesis, now known as TheGlobe.
’If anyone ever asked which company had the craziest IPO of the dot-com era, most would point to WebGenesis — now known as theGlobe.’
Richard knew that.
’But I never knew they would go this far,’ he said, speechless.
Founded in 1995 by two Cornell students, Stephan Paternot and Todd Krizelman, it was one of the first social networking platforms, a precursor to what Facebook would later beco. The pair had parlayed its explosive online popularity — and the frenzy surrounding the new Internet economy — into massive investnt deals.
Richard rembered it well: he had provided $200,000 in exchange for a 10% stake in their fledgling company. For two undergraduate students, that kind of money was enormous — life-changing.
No one could have imagined that WebGenesis would achieve such teoric success barely a year after launching. Even Paternot and Krizelman, once ordinary students juggling classes and code, were now drawing salaries exceeding $100,000 each, along with $500,000 in earnings from preferred share sales.
Of course, Richard’s shares had multiplied many tis over. In fact, just a year after the company officially launched as a professional business, Paternot and Krizelman brought so many new ideas that they quickly sought another $15 million in financing through Dancing Bear Investnts.
Increased by 7,400% in just one year!
When Richard heard the news, another idea struck him. Without hesitation, he moved through Maddox Capital to acquire another 10% stake in WebGenesis, boosting his total ownership to 20% — paying $20 million and outbidding Dancing Bear Investnts in the process!
The market’s mood at the ti was electric. The prevailing belief was that the Internet would change everything overnight — that any company bold enough to plant its flag online would eventually strike gold.
By then, Richard held a solid 20% share of the company.
By last year, as the company prepared to go public, both founders felt that the na WebGenesis sounded too old-fashioned and not tech-enthusiastic enough. So, they decided to rena it TheGlobe, with "TGLO" as its ticker symbol on NASDAQ.
Richard, being one of the largest shareholders, naturally agreed — and the move proved brilliant. When TheGlobe debuted on the NASDAQ, underwritten by Bear Stearns, the shares were priced at $9.
What happened next was one of the wildest single-day stock runs in history.
When trading opened, TheGlobe’s stock imdiately shot up to $87. Within hours, it touched $97, before closing the day at $63.50. That was a 606% increase from its offering price — the largest first-day gain for any IPO ever, a record that still stands decades later.
In a single day, TheGlobe’s market capitalization rocketed to $840 million, despite the company having only about $5 million in total revenue. On paper, both Krizelman and Paternot beca multimillionaires, each worth over $100 million at just 24 and 25 years old.
And Richard, who had put in $20 million the year before, briefly saw his stake valued at nearly $168 million.
The frenzy was so intense that TheGlobe still holds the record for the largest first-day gain of any IPO in history.
For a brief window after the IPO, Stephan Paternot and Todd Krizelman were celebrated as the faces of the "new economy." They were young, ambitious, and suddenly worth tens of millions of dollars on paper.
"But that spotlight will turn harsh—especially for Paternot, right?" Richard said, his eyes still fixed on the docunt Alan Lewis had brought.
Just days ago, he’d been certain that TheGlobe would beco one of the true pioneers of the Internet era, a symbol of the coming millennium. But now, with this docunt in front of him, that confidence began to waver.
’Early downfall,’ he thought grimly.
He looked up at Alan. "Where did you get this?" Richard finally asked, unable to hold back his curiosity.
"I’ve got connections—one of them works with a CNN reporter. I was lucky enough to buy a copy draft before it goes live."
Richard nodded, accepting the explanation, then turned his eyes back to the docunt.
It was only a few sheets of paper, but on them were several printed images—clearly taken from a video clip. Below each image were lines of text that Richard guessed were transcripts of the conversations captured in the footage.
The scene described was unmistakable.
Caras had followed Paternot into a Manhattan nightclub, where he was fild dancing on a table in shiny vinyl pants beside his girlfriend, model Jennifer dley. Looking straight into the cara, he proclaid: "Got the girl. Got the money. Now I’m ready to live a disgusting, frivolous life."
Richard could already imagine what would co next.
"Stupid asshole," he muttered under his breath.
He knew exactly what this ant. As the fortunes of many young Internet entrepreneurs exploded overnight, both the public and the dia had begun to turn their attention toward these so-called "new economy wunderkinds.
And now, with CNN preparing to air this clip, Richard could already see how it would spread—on television, across the Internet, and all over the rising scene of Silicon Alley.
The timing couldn’t have been worse.
Not only could this hurt TheGlobe, but it might also shake confidence in the entire tech sector. Investors, analysts, and the public would start to question the fundantals of Internet companies. Stories of lavish parties, sky-high burn rates, and reckless spending would soon dominate headlines, eroding what little faith remained in the dot-com boom.
After all, when people invest, they rarely know how their money is actually being used. Who would guess that sothing like this could happen—especially with soone like Paternot?
’This will mark the change in the montum of the dot-com boom,’ Richard thought grimly.
"Adam..." Richard called quietly.
Adam looked up. "What’s wrong?"
"Help with sothing."
"Sure. What is it? Are you ready to cash out your stocks?"
Richard shook his head. "Not just that. Help prepare all my holdings. I need to review everything — every share I own."
Adam frowned, sensing the tension in Richard’s voice. "You think sothing’s coming?"
Richard exhaled slowly, eyes distant. "Yeah. It’s ti to curate everything I have before the crash hits."
"..."
Thankfully, it was just the two of them in the room.
Adam Lewis, who had once served as Richard’s early legal advisor before becoming the lawyer of Maddox Capital, had long learned never to underestimate Richard’s instincts.
After all, he had joined the ride too!
When Richard invested, he invested as well. When Richard went all in, so did he.
Now, with Richard preparing to pull out of so of his holdings, the question hung unspoken in the air — would he dare to keep holding his own?
No chance. This was tied directly to his own fortune, his own future. Adam understood the weight imdiately.
He straightened, eyes sharp.
"Leave it to ," he said firmly.
The air between them grew still — two n who had once ridden the wave of the dot-com dream, now quietly preparing to get out before the crash.
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