Ronald's share exchange agreement was quickly completed with the help of Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs earned a commission and helped submit various documents to the SEC and complete compliance procedures. Ronald still had to spend more money
A sum of money is responsible for the tax treatment after the exchange. Recently, the IRS has tightened its grip on the taxation of securities transactions.
This is partly due to the sugar-coated trap directed by Ronald. As soon as this movie about legal tax avoidance came out, the IRS took the opportunity to do some publicity. They received some criticism and also received support from some people.
The president passed a balanced budget bill, Congress increased budgets and personnel, and they are massively increasing law enforcement.
To a certain extent, Ronald shot himself in the foot. However, tax filing is now much more convenient than before. The IRS is experimenting with an electronic tax system. His accountants and lawyers charge the same amount. The thing is
Much less.
On this day, he came to Disney's headquarters to meet with Chairman Michael Eisner. The two chatted about the past, and then the topic turned to Ronald's new stocks.
"Redstone is like this. I knew it when I dealt with him before." Eisner poured Ronald a glass of brandy and said something bad about Redstone, saying that he was very friendly to small shareholders.
Chairman Zhong, everyone has something to discuss.
"He is a control freak. I really don't want to hold stocks in that company. In fact, as long as I stand with the chairman every time I vote, what difference does it make whether the chairman owns the shares or not? Lei
Shi Dong is still an old-school businessman and must hold the main control."
Ronald also echoed a few words. Redstone is famous for being domineering in the industry. His acquisitions of Blockbuster and Paramount have kicked the original principals of the two companies away from the decision-making core.
"In comparison, Disney is a typical public company, so every shareholder meeting will be very lively..." Eisner narrowed his eyes. His desire for control is no weaker than Redstone's.
It's just that after the founder passed away, Disney's descendants fought among themselves and introduced other investors to fight each other. After many equity changes and the introduction of strategic investors, the current equity is very dispersed, and it has not actually become a real company.
Control people.
This gave Eisner the opportunity to take control of the company. Now every major decision can be made according to Eisner's wishes, but this is also a rule based on a fragile balance.
Except for the Bass family, which only cares about investment returns and not management, most of the other small and medium-sized shareholders are diversified investors who occupy about 1% of Ronald's figure. Today, Disney's market value is almost US$17.6 billion...
Eisner mainly received the support of the Bass family, but facing the stocks held by Walt Disney's nephew and other company veterans, his advantage was relatively weak, and he had to bear responsibility for the investment of the Bass family.
, only by maintaining a relatively high value-added rate can we gain the dominance of hardcore players.
Now, some key stocks have come to Ronald...
"I'm not interested, you know me. Now I just want to make the movies I want to make, invest in other people's movies I've seen, and then spend more time with my family. I don't want to miss my children.
Every important moment in our growth..."
Ronald passed on the important information, and he would give the voting rights to Chairman Eisner as his proxy. From then on, he would have the voting rights for his share of the stock at the next board of directors or shareholders meeting.
"Ha ha ha ha……"
With his thoughts settled, Eisner showed his uncle-next-door friendliness again, put his arm around Ronald's shoulders, said many kind words, and even invited Ronald to play golf with him.
"To be honest, I really need a capable person to help me. He is not a traitor like Katzenberg. Why don't you think about it?" Eisner began to ask Ronald semi-tentatively again.
"I signed the proxy voting agreement. I just don't want to be disturbed by such trivial matters. You still have to find an ambitious person to manage it, such as..." Ronald refused again. His stock was due to Via
Comb's shares had to be exchanged because they couldn't be sold on the open market. Disney's operating performance is much better, so maybe he can sell it in a year or two.
"I feel like you have a candidate?" Eisner couldn't help but become curious when he saw that Ronald didn't name the candidate in his mind.
"I can't think of it. This is the chairman's problem. It shouldn't be decided by a small shareholder like me, hahaha..."
However, a candidate suddenly popped up in Ronald's mind, which surprised him... He still needed time to think about it, and Eisner was very suspicious, and the candidate he proposed might be rejected by him.
veto.
"I'm really convinced. Are you looking at Disney's stock as an investment now?" Eisner smiled and picked up the wine glass. If Ronald really talked about the candidates, he would doubt Ronald's.
The real purpose.
It can be said that the SEC and Disney's board of directors were careless in doing things. There were no special provisions in the company's articles of association, so it must comply with the SEC's general rules. Shareholders' proxy voting rights must be signed once a year and will expire after the next meeting.
.
Relying on this annual agency agreement, these people have to threaten or evaluate their own performance every year, which makes him not very comfortable as a chairman. Fortunately, Eisner already has a plan to change this.
Shareholders control the situation of the board of directors and make themselves the real talkers.
"To be honest, I'm not a very ambitious person, and my DDH doesn't have the performance requirements of those shareholders..." Ronald replied with a smile. This matter hit Eisner's heart a bit.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Ronald is a standard first-generation entrepreneur, just like Walt Disney back then. He can control the entire company from the perspective of prestige, and he also holds the majority of the equity. Those who
Investors simply cannot afford to ride the waves.
And he, Eisner, was a chairman who was transformed from a migrant worker. Whether it was Paramount back then or Disney now, the founder had long since passed away, and family members no longer had much influence.
"You are the real rich man. The most expensive thing is time. I haven't seen my three children for a long time..." Eisner answered with half pride and half emotion.
"This is different. My company is just a regional media, and it is incomparable to a big ship like Disney. Such a company can only be controlled by people like you who are never-ending, full of competitive spirit and ambitious."
…”
Ronald emphasized the word ambition again.
"Katzenberg also has ambitions, but he is a traitor... Humph..." Eisner thought of his old subordinates who betrayed him again, and ignored other people's ideas of career advancement. This kind of person always thinks about things.
I feel that I am the right one...
"Hey, I'm like that too. Now when I see those people who worked for me when the company was very weak, I have more trust. Those employees who came after the company became bigger or even went public, I always have a feeling that they will
You won’t cheat me out of my money. Do you think I’m naive, Michael?”
Ronald sent another hint. If a Hollywood director has any special skills in life, it would be the art of speaking, allowing the obedient counterparty to accept various hints, and then "figure it out" by instilling the ideas you want to them.
.
Especially for actors with low IQs and limited education, it's a one-size-fits-all approach. When it comes to dealing with the chairman of a listed Hollywood studio, it seems to be pretty good now.
"What you said makes sense, Ronald. But my first job was as a director's assistant at ABC, a national media. I didn't have a partner like you who worked together from a small company..." Eisner was still thinking.
I laugh at Ronald's poor employment skills, but I'm also a little sad to think that I don't have a hard-core subordinate like him.
"Really? Your first job was at ABC?" Ronald made a fuss. Eisner's family background is very good. His mother's family is the inventor of safety razor blades, and his father is a member of the Housing Development Department.
Supervisor, all he needs to do to enter the entertainment industry is say hello to his parents.
"Yeah, what about you?"
"Me? I'm fucking reviewing scripts for Roger Corman's The New World..."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Eisner and Ronald both burst into laughter. Roger Corman was a famously stingy person in the industry, and Ronald understood it as soon as he said it.
Ronald did some public relations for his old club, hoping that Eisner would agree to award a special Oscar to Roger Corman. Although it was very difficult, the bosses of many major studios proposed to the Academy,
It's not impossible.
"I don't know, but you have always worked in a big national media and a big studio. It seems that if you want to find a trustworthy general manager, you can only find someone like me who started from the bottom and then
I am the one who has received your favor." Ronald began to hint crazily again.
"Well..." Eisner looked at Ronald. From his face and tone, it was not clear that he had any intention of recommending people. It seemed that he really said it casually, but it was said casually, but
He spoke from his heart.
…
"Ronald, Jeffrey asked me to ask you, have you had any cooperation with Eisner recently? He wants to know whether his relationship with Eisner will affect DreamWorks' cooperation with you?"
The news that Ronald became a new shareholder of Disney has also spread in the industry. Although there was only a small report in the Wall Street Journal, Ronald's name did not appear, and the public did not pay much attention to a small shareholder of Disney.
A lot of attention was paid to it, but within the industry, it was big news.
In addition to DDH Media, which he founded, Ronald has now extended his tentacles to the ancient Seven Knights.
So Spielberg also represented DreamWorks and came to inquire about Ronald's thoughts.
"Don't mention it, I was forced to do this. My company invested in some Blockbuster stocks because of Wall Street's advice, hoping to get a better valuation. Who knew that it passively became Viacom's stock?
Shareholders, as a result, the stock price fell for a whole year, and it was difficult to find shareholders willing to exchange..."
Ronald told Spielberg about his "unlucky" experience, which was recognized by the artist. Although his partners David Geffen and Katzenberg did not necessarily believe this statement
, as long as Spielberg approves it.
"Oh, you've got me wrong. I'm not very good at investing myself. I just follow the advice of an investment consultant... Then I'll tell Jeffrey and ask him to contact you."
"Hey, okay. I just have something to ask him. I saw a brand new cartoon at Disney. I didn't even know that current technology can support animated feature films?"
What Ronald is talking about is the new film "Toy Story" that Disney is still rushing to produce. This animated feature film is different from the traditional painting "Pocahontas" they produced at the same time. All the characters and scenes are using
Computer 3D rendering.
At that time, it took a lot of effort to capture a few seconds of footage of Ronald in the polar bear drinking Coke commercial. In just a few years, technology has advanced to the point where it can produce a 90-minute feature film?
Is it true that Steve, the founder who was driven out of Apple, was really good at something? That production company was the animation department that was separated from George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic. It was acquired by Steve
After that, the name is now Pixar.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! "You also know? Before I left, preparations started in 1992. This is the first 3D animated feature film they released."
A few days later, Katzenberg met Ronald who came to the door, and showed him a demonstration of tens of seconds that Pixar showed them when they came to Disney. A desk lamp made various movements like a human.
Short film of funny actions.
Even looking at it now, Ronald feels that Pixar is very powerful. This demonstration uses a lot of tricks. For example, there are no textures, just a white shape modeled by an animator, but the feeling of agility is not there at all.
It is not weakened at all by this trick of reducing rendering computing power.
"Yeah, they hired Tom Hanks to voice the protagonist."
Ronald smacks his lips. This movie is about a world where toys come back to life after their owners leave. It turns out that the little owner Andy’s favorite toy Cowboy Woody is attacked by the new astronaut toy Buzz Light.
The story of the challenges of the year.
Ronald heard from Tom Hanks that the quality of this cartoon is very good. It is also a very cute theme. When the time comes, he can imagine Woody Cowboy and Buzz Lightyear in Disney's
How many toys can be sold in the system, and how many family members can be attracted to Disney parks in Paris, Tokyo and around the world.
Maybe I got a big bargain on Disney’s stock this time.
I don’t know why the Bass family would exchange shares for him? Have they made enough in the past ten years?
"What are you thinking about, Ronald?" Katzenberg asked.
"I was wondering why the Bass family would agree to sell the stock to me." Ronald expressed his doubts.
"You know, Ronald, there is a trend among media companies now, which is the alliance between movie studios, record companies, and national television networks..."
"Oh?" Ronald's mind changed. Is this Eisner's intention to acquire a national television network? That would be a large acquisition on the Viacom level... What other national television network is there now?