"Mr. Li, my first job after graduating from Harvard was as an assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Department of Defense. Your Top Gun is the first movie I have seen in so many years that positively praises our soldiers.
, I really wanted to get to know this director at that time..."
"Call me Ronald, Ronnie, whatever. I've also been famous to Mr. Paulson for a long time..."
"Call me Hank, Ronald, Hank..." Hank Paulson, who is in charge of investment banking at Goldman Sachs, is a typical traditional elite. His parents are small businessmen, religious, and he received a good public education when he grew up.
, is the recipient of the National Outstanding Boy Scout Commendation, is good at rugby and wrestling, and entered the Department of Defense after graduating from Harvard MBA...
He is full of energy, sincere and friendly to clients and friends, but he is different from the typical Goldman Sachs-style banker. This time, their strategy of acquiring a part of Blockbuster stock to increase the valuation of DDH was criticized midway.
Because of Redstone's influence, Paulson made a special trip to Los Angeles to meet with Ronald to maintain the relationship.
After visiting Ronald's collection room, seeing several of his Oscar trophies, and movie posters where he served as director and producer, Paulson got straight to the point.
"Redstone's acquisitions mainly provided him with financial support from institutions such as JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, and Credit Suisse, as well as the Rothschild family and the local banking group in Boston that have always been closely related to him. We at Goldman Sachs only have a financial consulting department.
After doing some work on this business, I can 100% guarantee that the news of the acquisition of Blockbuster could not have been leaked through the investment banking department of Goldman Sachs. Public channels and the SEC are more likely to be the channels for leaks..."
"Hank, I don't mean to blame anyone. The guys at Goldman Sachs have cooperated fully with my employees. I just feel that I was attacked this time. Moreover, Redstone was very confident when he met me. Obviously he has more information than me."
There are many.”
Ronald had figured it out before Paulson's visit. Instead of blaming Goldman Sachs for the possible leak, it was better to hint that the problem was that Goldman Sachs had not warned itself in advance like the financial institutions that served Redstone.
The key.
As one of the top investment banks on Wall Street, there is no reason why Goldman Sachs cannot compare with private consortiums such as JPMorgan Chase and Rothschild.
Paulson is also a very smart person. His undergraduate degree was from Dartmouth College, which is a relatively low-ranking school in the Ivy League. Harvard, where he only went to MBA, is not the same route as those elite children who are destined to go to Harvard and Yale since birth.
But relying on this background, he was able to climb to the position of business director in Goldman Sachs' core investment banking business. His ability is very outstanding even in Goldman Sachs where elites gather.
He heard Ronald's words very clearly, smiled, stared into Ronald's eyes, and replied, "The interests of our clients come first, which is Goldman Sachs' motto. As our cooperation deepens,
, we can provide you with richer and more in-depth information.”
"Excellent, want a drink?"
Ronald nodded with a smile, indicating that he understood what the other party meant. People who graduated from Ivy League schools are all smart people. In sensitive situations such as speaking and written communication, it is impossible to give a little hint, which will be leaked.
Key information about competitors.
He stood up, took a bottle of whiskey produced in Japan, handed it to Goldman Sachs manager Michael Goldman, and motioned for him to pour some wine for everyone and chat slowly.
People in Paulson's position can be calm and calm, but Paulson's subordinate, Michael Goldman, has a fierce look in his eyes that clearly shows that he will be extremely loyal to customers like Ronald.
If you have any dirty work in the future, he will take care of it for you.
Redstone's side had indeed crossed the line. This sudden attack put Ronald, who had limited information, in a dilemma.
On the one hand, if he agrees to sell shares to Redstone, then Goldman Sachs's valuation plan will go bankrupt. If he doesn't agree, it will be even worse. Not only the DDH valuation will also be affected by the merged Blockbuster-Viacom
The decline was dragged down by the crazy acquisitions, and Ronald's stock will also plummet due to the stubborn acquisitions of the old man Redstone.
The negotiation between Redstone and Blockbuster lasted four days. The closed-door meeting did not allow the news to come out. As soon as Redstone got off the negotiating table, Redstone suddenly paid a visit to Ronald.
Looking back now, it is probably Redstone's sudden idea to buy some stocks from Ronald to suppress Blockbuster's asking price. Blockbuster is a company with very dispersed equity, and the largest shareholder, Hu Yizenga, only has
8% of the shares.
If Ronald is willing to sell 1% of his shares to him, then the effect of this example can make more shareholders stand on his side and diversify the acquisition of the equity of small shareholders to achieve a shareholding ratio similar to Huyzenga's.
To a certain extent, it is cheaper than acquiring Blockbuster in one piece. Subsequent mergers and acquisitions will also cost less.
But after this failed, Redstone returned to Blockbuster, immediately raised his bid, and reached an unfavorable acquisition agreement with them.
Blockbuster spent more than 1.2 billion to acquire Viacom's non-voting B shares, and gave the cash to Redstone for free, allowing him to use it to acquire Paramount. But Blockbuster's contribution
It is rewarding. The company's owner, Huizenga, can cut three seats on Viacom's 12-member board of directors after the merger.
Last year, Blockbuster spent 600 million to invest in Viacom's stock, which is a demonstration of Huizenga's ambition. After the merger, there is no telling who can dominate the future Viacom-Blockbuster.
.
After all, among the listed companies in the entertainment industry, who else can provide more than one billion in spare cash to burn in their accounts?
This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! "Although I am a Hollywood practitioner, I still don't understand why Blockbuster has so much cash? I have also read their statements, last year's
The operating income is just over 1.2 billion..."
Ronald and Paulson drank some wine and began to try to see how much the other party respected their quality as a customer. The interests of the customer come first, but when there is a conflict between the customer and the customer, who are you based on?
First? It depends on which customer is more important in Goldman Sachs' eyes.
Paulson smiled and said, "This is Blockbuster's accounting magic... Their video tape purchase price is... how much is it?"
"The current season's movie videos cost thirty-five to seventy-five dollars, but the ones two years ago can be as low as less than ten dollars..." Michael Goldman immediately continued. Before he came to apologize today, he yelled in the office to ask for help.
Those Harvard elites found out all the secrets of Blockbuster and memorized them intently for a long time on the way here.
Blockbuster's profit of "only" 140 million last year was entirely made by buying shares of Viacom and another company, which consumed more than half of its cash, but it is still the entertainment company with the most cash.
.
Huizenga, the owner of Blockbuster, started his business by renting trash cans to tourists on Miami Beach. His business secret has never changed. The leasing business is actually selling cheap assets over and over again.
client.
Blockbuster's hit movies were typically rented as many as 75 times in the first year, at about $3 per rental, generating $225 in revenue. This was three to seven times the cost of purchasing the video. These multiples accounted for hundreds of
A large part of Star's huge cash flow.
Huizenga must be very proud now. Relying on the bargaining power of more than 1.2 billion in cash, he feels that he will become the most powerful faction on Viacom's board of directors.
The merged Viacom-Blockbuster was worth US$8.4 billion. Both Huizenga and Redstone were very satisfied. Everyone got what they wanted. Only shareholders like Ronald were interested in the merger.
The victim...the stock price of the merged company will almost certainly fall.
"How many voting rights does Redstone have?" Ronald asked Michael Goldman after listening to the introduction.
"Our estimate is 80%. Redstone would rather pay a high premium to firmly control the A-shares with voting rights."
"It seems that Huizenga, who started his career as a garbage collector, never went to MBA..." Ronald smiled. It seems that this man's success was also caused by current events. For a little profit on paper, he gave up control of the company.
Giving Redstone such a crocodile...
"Hahaha..." Michael Goldman and Paulson both laughed, and then some other members of the Goldman Sachs team began to laugh in agreement.
"So, when will my stocks get their money back?" Ronald looked at Michael Goldman again after everyone had finished laughing.
"The possibility of Redstone's acquisition of Paramount seems to be decreasing sharply. His previous acquisition bid has increased from 7.5 billion to 10.7 billion. According to our calculations, even if Via
If Com and Blockbuster later use this price to acquire Paramount Media, the company will not be worth so much. Add in the debt and interest paid for the two acquisitions, and they will lose money anyway..."
Michael Goldman said very excitedly that as long as the acquisition of Paramount is stopped, Viacom's stock price will recover. The listing of DDH, which he led, will also recover its valuation at the time.
Ronald was noncommittal and turned to look at Paulson.
"If Mr. Redstone does this, he will be very close to the red line of bankruptcy..." Paulson understands what Ronald means. He still thinks that Redstone will acquire Paramount. But in this case,
Is it too risky or even scary to spend more than 10 billion to buy an asset worth less than 8 billion?
Paulson looked at Ronald with increasingly dull eyes, and was surprised in his heart. Goldman Sachs can weigh customers, and customers can also weigh Goldman Sachs. Does Ronald have any definite information? What if Goldman Sachs doesn't?
If you know...
He waved his subordinates away, indicating that he wanted to talk to Ronald privately. Michael Goldman sat still, thinking that he had entered the small circle, but he also signaled with his eyes and reluctantly left the room.
.
"Before I came here today, I heard some rumors that QVC is considering renegotiating with Paramount Media. Their offer of more than 10 billion cannot make any money. Barry Diller regrets it and is preparing to compete with his competitors.
In case of withdrawal, lower the price!”
This is news that only the inner circle of Wall Street can know. At this moment when Redstone just announced that he had taken Blockbuster, he could get such news early. As expected, Goldman Sachs's connections and information network are indeed extraordinary.
"Really? I have met both Redstone and Barry Diller, and they give me different impressions. Redstone is rough and vulgar, but I think he is like a cheetah. Once he decides to prey on someone, he will
Try your best. If you can't catch up, your physical strength will be too much and you may starve to death.
And Mr. Diller is like a lion, every shot is the result of precise calculation..."
"Well, I wonder where Ronald you got such an interesting metaphor?" Paulson was a little confused. Did Ronald really have any news, or was he guilty of something wrong as an artist?
What character analysis of Hollywood screenwriters was used to predict the decisions of these two people?
Although "Other People's Money" directed by Ronald is more reflective of the Wall Street takeover war than other Hollywood movies, it is still a movie after all and is far from the real situation.
"Disney's latest animated film is called The Lion King. It has a similar metaphor. I happen to have a good relationship with them."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "You must be kidding... Hahaha", Paulson felt a little weird and laughed... No...
"Are you shorting Viacom through some channel?" Paulson suddenly had an inspiration. Most people only stick to their opinions after making a bet. A person whose stock price fell after buying a stock,
Especially laymen, they will always come up with various reasons, such as technical decline, bankers deliberately selling to accumulate funds, to justify their mistakes.
"Do you have suitable channels at Goldman Sachs? I mean the kind with high standards and good confidentiality." Ronald suddenly became interested. Paulson is a very smart person, and it is not surprising that he saw through his own thoughts.
.The short-selling traders on Bannon’s side are not top-notch on Wall Street.
"In the Asset Management Department, they can do this for investment clients. However, I recommend the Global Markets Department. The people there are better, and they are fast in and out, and their tone of voice is much stricter."
Paulson got a little careful. Anyway, as a mercenary, Goldman Sachs can make money regardless of whether Ronald's short speculation makes or loses. Besides, Ronald still has shares in Blockbuster. These shares
Enough to close a position.
The worst thing Ronald could do is lose money on both stocks and short selling, but it won't hurt his fundamentals. Maybe he will rely more on Goldman Sachs' investment strategy advice.
Moreover, Goldman Sachs CEO Jon Corzine has hinted that he will promote a new COO at the end of the year. If Paulson can not only continue to lead the investment banking department to make rapid progress, but also unite the global markets department, then with another
The competition for the head of a core business unit, Asset Management, has gained a strong ally.
"I will let my people contact your people..."
"Very good." Hearing that Ronald was so confident, Paulson began to pack his things and prepare to leave. After the two said goodbye, Paulson opened the door and then stopped...
"But, Ronald, can you tell me what exactly makes you so confident? No kidding..."
This question before leaving is also Paulson's exclusive experience. Often, they are at their lowest alert at this time.
"Mr. Redstone is not a person who likes to go to other people's homes to chat, but he still came to my home that day..."
Ronald looked solemn. An arrogant man like Redstone, he did everything as if he was doing favors to others. He even harassed a strange woman, as if all women should throw themselves into his arms.
, all men should be used by him.
For such a person to give up his self-esteem and come to Ronald's house to talk about something, this shows that this matter is very important to him. Is it just because of the acquisition of Blockbuster?
No, he encountered obstacles in acquiring Blockbuster, so he condescended to make an offer to Ronald. He wanted to get the company, and then use Blockbuster's money to go back and buy Paramount.
"No Shxt!" Paulson blurted out.
"No Shxt..." Ronald said that everything I said was true.
"It seems that you have convinced me that the cheetah is going to make a desperate move."
Ronald nodded, stood up and shook hands with Paulson, "I need the best trader..."
"You'll get..."
…
"It's actually like this..." Paulson pondered in the car. Ronald was a skilled hunter and had a dangerous intuition about his prey. It would not be easy for those who were targeted by him. People with such business intuition,
Worth more investment, he said to Michael Goldman, "In the future, all listing matters of DDH must be reported to me..."
"Continue to add another 100 million in funds? You are so sure, I won't advise you." Ronald's personal accountant, Lawrence, heard that he was going to add short-selling funds to Goldman Sachs, so he prepared for it as a matter of course. Ronald
De’s previous investment vision cannot be questioned.
"Of course I'm sure," Ronald put down the phone and thought with a smile, "Redstone proposed acquisitions to me three times in just a short meeting. When would such an arrogant man be so interested in a small business?"
Have patience? He is a gambler who is forced to the edge of the cliff and must stud.
Besides, after DDH went public, he and he were technically equal media group bosses. Redstone had humiliated himself so much, so what if he didn’t come back? Otherwise, Redstone would definitely make fun of his misstep that night in person if he had the chance.