Mark Bouris: What I Learnt From Kerry Packer

the first person ever told me about this was one Kerry Packer into in 1999 I'll set you the scene I was running was at home lines I've been running it for about a year at a bit I own 100% of it it was you know decent business had about 750 million dollars in terms of mortgages under management which is no big deal you know it was pretty good at time but just average the Packer family was looking to invest in financial services business if you recall those days they bought they invested in eBay he called Charles Schwab etc 9 MSN media and Finance was converging the two businesses were converging they knew if they use their platform their media platform they could build a business like mine through advertising and marketing but they're not going to do that unless they can have a share of it so I got approached I knew James quite well it did not carry at all James said to me buddy let's have a meeting let's talk about it he said you know what do you reckon your business is worth if we would invest if we were to come in for half we'll put half the value in the bit we'll put the whole value in the business and we now aren't they don't now they now on half and of course I said to him something like well I read the business worth 50 million bucks you know just pick a figure out there that was what I said and I'd only be gone for you it was a pretty sort of brave call but bear in mind different times was a lot of liquidity around so there's arrogance worth 50 million bucks James said okay yeah James a pretty smart guy and I got a surprise in my life he said well the first thing you've got to do is you've got to come and do a presentation of the board of publish and broadcasting in those days were and channel 9 Andy Corp and all those things I said okay put a made a presentation anyway he said that's good no problem term sheets signed of course there's non-binding term sheets in there we got three months to do due diligence on you to check your number now Judy Lynch is another way of saying we're going to reduce the price I didn't know that but I mean that's what it means so after three months of due diligence you know I feel like three years I had Gilbert and Tobin in a big law firm in Australia working me over had Arthur and not Arthur Anderson um yeah Ernst and Young there were big accounting firm working me over for three once I had in-house lawyers for PBL and the publishing broadcasting and consolidate Press Group working me over I had the in-house accountants I had due diligence committees like at the end of three months I was absolutely exhausted like I was gone and I like at that stage I would have done it for a million bucks you know like over I was I was ready just to do anything for you know like and during that period of course James said to me mate we can't talk to each other that we were friends when our business so we can't talk so like I couldn't ring him up and say get these off me and I like he just didn't know about it and it's amazing I put your friends disappear when money's involved and anyway one Friday comes up he says buddy he said it's all done documentation is all agreed all the warranties are agreed that you know the deals done by the stage was gone from fifty to twenty five million so you know that's still pretty a big good number and he said it I said I cool he said we're going to sign Monday he said but there's one thing you ought to do go down see Carrie hurry up see the old man I thought oh my god I've just been through three months of due diligence and I'm going to sit in front of Kerry Packer now and just be grilled now I didn't see him the whole time we go in his office I go on his reception of Monday morning I'm sitting there he's like big shadow sort of comes past me six foot four guy would have he said son get in there so go under his walk in his room very sheepishly I said this sooner I go in his room and I just explained his room to you his office is about twice bigger twice as big as his stage I mean it all wood paneled leather he's got this massive oak table he sits behind his feet up on the table his chairs about up about this high I'm on the other side of the table my chairs like down here so looking up at him and he's standing there he's sitting there I should say and he's in a non-smoking building with a sear it in his mouth he's just staring at me for about three or four minutes for a word has set I'm sort of sitting out move my hands down here I'll do that to start a sweaty or doing this talk about intimidation like I mean it's just supreme intimidation and you just stare at me with his eyes blowing smoke at me and it feel like an eternity he's checking me out he says I've got three questions for you per take a deep breath listening he says the first question and this is the first thing he ever taught me taught me three things I'm going to tell you what that Adobe taught me three things and this first thing is about things you can control this first thing you said to me son what business are you in yeah I said Kerry we just done three months of due diligence it's called wizard homeland you don't it now well I felt like sorry that I didn't quite say that BA I wasn't that brave he said so I looked at him I actually said to him a like it's caught with homeowners is he looked at so I got a she wants more what business are you in and then you know bear in mind I'm about to get a check for 25 mil the business about to get checked 25 minutes a pretty important question I'm one thing to myself a got three questions for is this a like you've got to get 2 out of 3 or 1 out of 3 or I know what's a failure rate like can I get a half a question I come back and do it again next week and he asked the question again and he starts doing the stair thing still no not like I just couldn't think I don't know I don't know what to do with it sort of throw my hand in I don't feel like I was in a poker table like it was really tough I mean seriously I mean you see that show about him he he was so overpowering there's something about him his chemistry I you know anyway I said he said that he's selling Adobe out of this one he said son your business your purpose business purpose is the business of hopes and dreams he said never forget it now what he was basically saying is this don't give me the crap that you're in the home line business don't give me the crap you're in the coffee selling business don't give me the crap you're in the media he's not saying he's saying what is the emotion if you want to know where you can control your choice you control the emotion the your product or service is appealing to what is the emotion the emotion in terms of my business your visit home loans was hopes and dreams everybody has the hope and a dream of having a shoulder over the head

Channel: Success Resources Australia

Views: 213,316

Keywords: kerry packer, mark bouris, empowernet, success resources, world class events, personal development, personal development seminars, making money online, Mark Bouris (Person), personal devleopment workshops

Id: seTBvbdWVWI

Length: 7min 8sec (428 seconds)

Published: Thu Oct 09 2014