Panessa Broadcasting Company had long been a well-known media organization in Gotham City, but age had not been kind to it.
Low ratings and a deteriorating economic environment had steadily eaten away at the company's profits. Now its expenses exceeded its income, and the debts it owed the bank had finally pushed it to the brink, forcing the company to seek buyers from anywhere it could find them.
After learning of Karl's interest, the broadcasting company's executives arranged an extravagant reception and personally gave him a tour, displaying more enthusiasm than any salesman.
"Our broadcasting company has been operating in Gotham City for fifty years, longer than any of our competitors!"
"More importantly, we have our own film and television production complex. We can start shooting practically any script we want there. By the way, Grundy's Swamp, which we produced in 1927, ranked third in Gotham and nearly became an Oscar contender!"
Karl listened to the chubby manager boast about the company's glorious past. He smiled politely but absentmindedly, focusing instead on the drab, dilapidated studio complex beside the river.
To a certain extent, the man wasn't lying.
The company owned a huge tract of land dedicated to film and television production.
Anywhere else in Gotham City, a plot that large could bring in a fortune through rent alone.
But this was Arkham, a sparsely populated industrial district where land wasn't particularly expensive. It was also right beside one of Bleake Island's run-down neighborhoods.
Otherwise, simply selling the land would have brought in enough money to keep this incompetent broadcasting company alive for another thirty years.
For Karl, however, that wasn't much of a problem.
Other people might dismiss the Arkham District entirely, but Karl, who had already risen to become the man in charge of the district, was more than happy to own valuable property within his own territory.
In fact, the company's location in Arkham was one of the main reasons he had approached them in the first place.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Karl deliberately put on an impatient expression.
"The problem is, I'm not running a museum. The older this stuff gets, the less valuable it is to me."
"And this film studio—I thought it was a good piece of land that I could demolish and redevelop. I didn't expect it to be this much of a wreck."
"Look at these terrible buildings and ancient sets. An actor could trip over something and suffer a serious injury at any moment."
"Nobody wants to shoot anything in a place like this. At this point, the only people using it are homeless people looking for a toilet."
And that was the truth.
Because the broadcasting company's ratings were so poor, it didn't have the money to produce its own programs.
Even when it tried renting the facilities out, the equipment was outdated, and many of the sets had been left behind from the previous century.
They held little appeal for professional production crews.
The entire property was overgrown with weeds and practically abandoned.
Even the cartoonish statue hanging above the studio entrance had fallen into such disrepair that it looked as though it might collapse at any moment.
This was the same Panessa Studios featured in Batman: Arkham Knight.
Seeing Karl's dissatisfied expression, the broadcasting executive wiped the sweat from his forehead and cautiously asked,
"Well... sir, if you're dissatisfied, we can discuss the price. This place still has tremendous potential. It simply needs investment to bring it back to life!"
Karl turned around.
With Red's assistance, he had easily investigated most of the company's information beforehand, including the price they were asking.
Indeed, the price currently being offered to Karl was already considerably lower than the figure Red had originally uncovered.
But Karl was concerned about something else now.
Money itself was no longer the most important issue.
"Let's put it this way, sir."
"I can afford to lose a little on the price. I don't need you to make any further concessions."
"But I'll make one thing clear: I want every share in this broadcasting company."
"In other words, I want you to sell the entire company to me."
Karl spoke politely, but his tone didn't sound like that of someone engaged in a negotiation.
As expected, the manager's expression immediately became serious.
After hesitating for a moment, he lowered his voice.
"I appreciate how highly you regard our company, but any decision concerning all of the shares would have to be approved by the board of directors..."
Before he could finish, Karl interrupted him.
"The board?"
Karl frowned.
"Didn't I tell you beforehand to make sure everyone came?"
"Can't your people discuss it right now? What's the point of going back and dragging this out?"
"How much time do you think I have?"
Seeing Karl becoming angry, cold sweat appeared on the manager's forehead.
He had never encountered anyone this unreasonable before, but he didn't dare offend Karl.
He stepped closer and whispered,
"The problem isn't with the people here."
"There are certain... special organizations that have interests in the film industry. Ten percent of the company's shares have to be reserved for them without requiring any investment on their part."
"Otherwise, the entire business becomes very difficult to operate."
Karl immediately understood what he meant.
The implication couldn't have been clearer.
There were invisible underworld organizations operating behind the scenes.
In reality, the relationship between the film industry and organized crime had always been complicated.
During the early days of filmmaking, many studios had hired gangsters to maintain order because they were worried about people storming onto their sets and causing trouble.
Later, those gangsters realized that the film industry was an extremely profitable piece of business.
They gradually began infiltrating it.
At the simplest level, they collected protection money in exchange for ensuring that productions could proceed safely.
At a higher level, they inserted themselves into film companies as shareholders, receiving so-called free equity stakes and collecting dividends without investing anything themselves.
And at an even higher level, they established film companies of their own and used them to launder money.
Under those circumstances, Panessa Broadcasting Company clearly had connections to organized crime.
"You don't have to worry about any of that."
Karl spoke calmly.
"Just sell me the shares honestly. I'll deal with everything else myself."
"As far as I know, you owe the bank tens of millions of dollars."
"If those debts are called in immediately, this entire place will be auctioned off. By the time that's finished, I doubt much money will reach your board of directors."
"So the fact that I'm willing to invest now already means I'm helping you."
After hearing this, the general manager understood Karl's point.
He immediately gathered the other directors to discuss the matter.
There was little else worth mentioning about that process.
Afterward, Oswald Cobblepot, the owner of the Iceberg Lounge, received a phone call from Karl.
Karl asked Penguin to investigate the underworld interests operating behind Panessa Broadcasting Company and find out exactly who was controlling them from the shadows.
He also asked Penguin to personally invite the other party out for a meeting.
Karl wanted to talk business.
(End of Chapter)
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