"This is a document. Let the lawyer take a look at it. If there are no problems, you can sign it..."
"OK, I will use part of the dividends to do charity for veterans and their families. You won't object, right?"
"No objection, I only have one request, let Aunt Karen lead this charity, otherwise she will definitely be dissatisfied and have to call me to complain, hahaha."
"No problem, she really likes doing this..."
Ronald flew back to New York from Los Angeles. In addition to meeting with the investment bank Goldman Sachs, accounting firms, and law firms to discuss the listing, Ronald also had to sign trust documents with two other women.
Donna is the beneficiary of another trust in which he placed shares. She, her mother Karen, and her subsequent children are all eligible to benefit from this trust. Of course, the voting rights of this stock still need to be passed through a complicated process.
The arrangement belongs to Ronald.
"Does this DDH mean something else?" Donna signed her name after the lawyer read the contract. She finally pointed to the DDH logo on the document header and asked thoughtfully.
Ronald.
"Well, the three major assets of my company are Daydream, New York Daily News Group, and Hollywood Cinemas. None of these three companies have national visibility, unlike Paramount, which can cover all its assets.
All business is branded, so that's it, simplicity is the best.
Ronald smiled. The three groups, together with the initials of their names, are the name of a group company. Anyway, this is a media company, and it does not need to rely on a brand to sell goods, so naming it this way actually makes sense.
As a precedent, the famous MGM was the merger of Metro, Goldwyn and Mayer studios.
"Is there any possibility that it is composed of the initials of three other names?" Donna looked into Ronald's eyes with a smile, looking a bit like the smart girl who was admitted to MIT back then.
"Anything is possible, and I'm really happy, Donna. You and Doug are both happy now..."
"Playboy, huh..." Donna guessed something, but immediately came over to hug Ronald. Not to mention other things, this cousin took care of the people around him, "I will help you with this charity.
Bar."
"Your and Doug's future children will also be the beneficiaries of this trust, Donna. Not only did she help me..."
…
"I'm not with you for your money..."
Unexpectedly, when Ronald went to Helen and asked her to sign a trust shareholding agreement, he encountered Helen's protest.
"Of course, I will never look at you like this. This is for the sake of my children..."
"Is it just for the children?"
"You can look at it this way, this is a testimony of our love..."
"I love you, Ronnie..."
Sure enough, Helen's character still likes romance. As soon as she heard the words "testimony of love", she immediately lay softly in Ronald's arms and felt the trembling that this gushing love brought to her.
"Where is the pen? I'll look for it..." After a long time, Helen, after savoring the huge romantic impact that today had brought to her with satisfaction, stood up and looked for a pen to sign.
"Aren't you going to show it to the lawyer?" Ronald asked while lying on the bed and drinking the water Helen handed him.
"Dear, this is unnecessary..." After saying that, Helen signed the notes one by one.
"Is this it?" Finally, Helen pointed to the last H letter of DDH on the agreement paper, and then looked at Ronald with a searching look.
"Yes..." The two looked at each other again, and then kissed each other.
"I think this way, when we are all old, let these children unite, only a few of them can learn enough knowledge, and then put forward proposals based on their own ideas, and only after everyone agrees can their trust be used
.
The entertainment industry is not that easy to work in. The effort and price you need to pay are too great. From now on, Linda and... well, it will be up to her to decide what she wants to do."
"And?" Helen didn't react for a moment, but then she remembered what Ronald said about uniting the children, and immediately leaned her face on Ronald's shoulder and whispered softly in his ear, "I want to
You have another child... um..."
…
"Ronald, what do you think?"
"Ah, what do I think?"
The next day, when discussing the details of DDH's listing with the team led by Michael Goldman, who is responsible for high-profile IPOs at Goldman Sachs, Ronald was still immersed in the craziness he had with Helen last night and seemed a little dazed.
"Mr. Goldman proposed that he could increase his holdings of some Blockbuster shares. If he could obtain enough shares to enter the board of directors before the SEC formally approves the listing permit, then according to their calculations, the valuation could be increased by 7.3%."
Ed Bastian and Lindsay Dole, who were accompanying Ronald in the meeting, pointed to a project in the document and explained it to Ronald from a financial and legal perspective.
Unlike CEO Bastian, who received stock options, Lindsey Dole did not receive shares in Ronald's company, but she used another method to obtain compensation for working for Ronald all year round.
Her law firm will become the permanent lawyer of the company after DDH is listed. She herself will serve Ronald's family trust, and the annual service fee added up will be no less than the options received by the company's executives.
.
In the future, she herself will be closely integrated with Ronald's family and become one of the few long-term, trustworthy friends of Ronald.
"Well, I have a question, why is a chain store that sells and rents videos so valuable?"
"Mr. Li, you are worthy of being the director who can make other people's money, Hollywood's best interpretation of Wall Street movies. Your question is also the most critical..."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! This banker named Michael Goldman is a typical Goldman Sachs person. He is confident to the point of arrogance, and he also has an attitude towards customers that requires careful consideration. If
If the customer is an evenly matched opponent, then serve him wholeheartedly. If the customer is the kind of little white sheep who doesn’t understand anything, then...
"Like the New England Cable Company in Other People's Money, Blockbuster appears to be powerful, but they themselves do not understand the potential of the company. Such a company with sufficient cash flow is like an insurance company, and it is
As the most popular important distribution channel in the film and television industry, they should make better use of the potential of such a company instead of just treating it as a video tape seller..."
After finishing speaking, Michael Goldman stared at Ronald with bright eyes.
"You're basically saying that Blockbuster is the New England Cable of the film and television industry, and that the quality of its assets will attract alligator-like outsiders on Wall Street who won't be able to fully exploit the company's potential, and sooner or later will attract people like Larry.
Someone to help them realize their potential?" Ronald spoke with a metaphor, and the corner of Ed Bastian's mouth next to him showed a slight smile.
The greatest ability of my boss is to quickly grasp the key to things. This statement can scare Michael Goldman and make him realize what kind of person he is dealing with.
This is not the Jewish executives of the studio, nor is it a second-generation rich man like Redstone. This is a man like Barry Diller who started from scratch in Hollywood and created a net worth of one billion.
"What did I tell you? What did I say? If people like Mr. Li come to Wall Street, we will all have to face a strong competitor..." Michael Goldman really got his response and immediately took corresponding measures
Regarding your attitude, let me say a few nice words first.
"Just call me Ronald. There is such a mismatch between Blockbuster's cash flow and their valuation. If I don't do it, someone else will?" Ronald flipped through their comments on Blockbuster.
I went to the analysis file and after looking at it for a while, I asked.
"That's it, Ronald. Talking to you often reminds me of my boss, Mr. Paulson, the co-chairman of Goldman Sachs' investment banking business. He also has the same way of hitting the point in every sentence."
"I've heard of him... I hope to talk to him if I have the chance." Ronald replied with a smile. Bannon heard the news that Ronald was going public, and he also came to seek to be an underwriter. But when Ronald
When he mentioned that he hoped to cooperate with Goldman Sachs, he scolded Paulson, then settled for the next best thing, and asked to cooperate with Ronald again in the production of film and television dramas.
"Of course, when our SEC approves it, we will definitely visit together. Please understand that Mr. Paulson attaches great importance to the listing of DDH, but as the best investment bank and financial consulting company on Wall Street, he also spends 100 days a year in
On the plane..."
"OK, you guys come up with a plan. Before the SEC approves it, I will acquire a small amount of Blockbuster stock. Don't exceed the limit of the silent period waiting for the S-1..."
Ronald had no objection. Acquisitions during this period should not exceed the so-called "major" limit. It would be better for large-scale acquisitions to wait until after the listing as DDH's first major move.
…
"Oh, what are Barry Diller and Redstone doing? Doesn't this offer require profit? Isn't it just for vindictiveness if you don't make money?"
After dealing with the listing matter, Ronald returned to Los Angeles. As Christmas approached, he saw another shocking news in the newspaper.
Two tycoons bidding for Paramount Communications, Viacom's Redstone and QVC's Barry Diller. The third offer is close to 10 billion. At this price, it will be exchanged for shares and cash.
The solution is to acquire Paramount. It is obvious that there is no money to be made.
Perhaps the only reasonable explanation for the two companies bidding like this is that they are grudges against each other because of their past grudges, right? It doesn't look like Paramount is worth so much money.
Even if Paramount Media’s current market value is not taken into account, and the huge growth of the film and television media industry in the next ten years is added to it, the valuation is unlikely to cover the crazy bid of the two.
"Shirley Lansing is happy now." Richard said. Not long after Lansing joined Paramount, the options in her hand had not yet been fully realized, but such a purchase price was much lower than the fixed options at the time.
Price, she made another huge profit.
"I'm afraid her boss, Mr. Davis, earns more..."
Ronald could imagine that these executives could make a lot of money at this kind of purchase price by relying on some of the shares in their hands. The one who made more money than Shirley Lansing was Paramount Media.
Chairman, Martin Davis.
He has been the chairman and CEO of Paramount since 1983. During this period, he had options and many opportunities to purchase stocks. If the final transaction price is the approximately 10 billion offered by the two bidders,
, the new shares obtained by Martin Davis are estimated to be worth more than one billion US dollars.
Being acquired out of nowhere, the value of your assets doubled. Such a good thing is really rare.
"Who do you think will take down Paramount?"
After dinner, Ronald also called Ed Bastian, who was busy going public.
"Humph, Barry Diller is more confident. His QVC is a TV shopping company, and its cash flow is much greater than that of Redstone's Viacom. Even if it seeks loans and financing from banks, QVC's financial situation
This situation also allows banks to be more confident in offering lower interest rates and higher credit extensions, but these are generally syndicated loans."
"It's really crazy. If I were me, I wouldn't dare to put my own company at risk to acquire a company of similar or even larger size." Ronald still admired the courage of these two people.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "They are different from you. Their holding ratio of the company is much lower than yours. To a large extent, they are not taking risks with their own property.
Instead, they use the company's assets to leverage and take risks with bank money. At such a purchase price, it is estimated that the stock prices of QVC and Viacom will plummet after the holidays..."
"Is that so? Is there an opportunity for short selling? These two people are too willful..."
Ronald muttered, then dialed Bannon's phone, "Steve, do you want to play the game in Japan again?"
"Giggle, I'm at your service at any time, Ronald." Bannon smiled happily. When the world needs it, it needs to speak to powerful people like Ronald, although the apple you want most may not necessarily be the one you want.
Yes, but the younger ones might think of you?
"I have only one request, don't let my name appear in any media or rumors."
"No problem, we use Japanese entities and several anonymous overseas companies as cover. I often do this."
Sure enough, after Christmas and New Year, both Viacom and QVC showed a downward trend in the stock market. The capital market was not optimistic about this kind of acquisition at all, and financial media such as the Wall Street Journal and Investor even used the phrase
The Paramount takeover battle was described with a title like "The War of Two Old Nuggets".
On Ronald's side, Bannon is not good at serious investment and film and television production, so he is very comfortable with speculative opportunities based on his familiarity with the industry. A lot of preparations have been made, and they are just waiting for the two old naughty boys to escalate their fighting spirit again.
…
"Ronald, Philadelphia Story's expanded run topped the box office in its opening weekend..."
Richard also insisted on coming to Ronald during the holidays. He took the box office statistics and told Ronald the good news.
"Hey? This is such an unexpected surprise... Why is Schindler's List not working?"
Ronald's finger scrolled down several entries before he reached the seventh position and saw the box office results of Schindler's List. Looking at the number of theaters showing it, there were only over 300.
"Huh? They really can't develop enough copies?"
It seems that Universal's black and white printing work is still very inefficient. The technicians at that time are all old and can only guarantee the production of dozens of copies every week.
Philadelphia Story does not have this problem. It was released in more than 1,200 theaters and grossed more than 13 million in the weekend box office, ranking first at the box office.