After completing the arrangements for the companies under their names, Chu Huan and Cao Yunshang hosted a banquet for the three founders of kkr at the Beekman Hotel.
Jerry Kohlberg, Henrik Levy, George Roberts.
And their wives.
Eight people sat at an oval dining table, chatting and laughing.
As mentioned before, Chu Huan came to New York for three things, and now the third thing is to acquire a North American commercial bank.
Chu Huan has always left KKR in charge of this matter, so tonight's banquet can be called a business banquet.
"Chu, I'm very sorry that I couldn't attend the wedding between you and Miss Cao because of company matters here. I hope you and Miss Cao won't be offended!"
Jerry Kohlberg raised a glass of apology to Chu Huan on behalf of the other two people.
Chu Huan smiled and said, "Jerry, you are too polite. Although the person has not arrived, the gift has arrived, so that's fine."
Jerry Kohlberg and the three of them looked at each other, then laughed, and Henryk Laiwei said, "Chu, congratulations again to you and Miss Cao on your happy marriage!"
Chu Huan and Cao Yunshang smiled and said, "Thank you very much."
After some simple greetings and banter, the conversation between the few of them got on the right track.
"Chu, you should have read some of the information we submitted to you in the past two days. Is there anything you need among these banks?"
Jerry Kohlberg asked Chu Huan.
Chu Huan wiped the corners of his mouth and then said, "I think Alder Commercial Bank is fine. This bank has multinational banking business, but its own operations are stagnant. I carefully looked at the information you submitted.
This bank basically has its own branches in several major cities in North America. Although there are not many deposits, it has complete business."
The banking industry in North America is very developed, and there are thousands of commercial banks. Although most of them are community banks, after screening by Jerry Kohlberg and others, 15 banks were identified that met Chu Huan's acquisition requirements.
Chu Huan chose Alde Commercial Bank among these 15 banks.
This is a commercial bank established in 1942. The founder is Wilbert Alder. The bank is headquartered in Los Angeles. In addition to its deposit business, its main core business is cooperation with several major Hollywood production companies.
Provide a portion of the film loan.
However, due to the overall slump in Hollywood in the 1970s, Alder Commercial Bank's performance continued to experience negative growth throughout the 1970s.
This is also why Wilbert Alder wants to sell the bank.
In addition, it is precisely because of this that the loan-to-deposit ratio of Alder Commercial Bank is higher than the average, reaching 65.
"Alder Commercial Bank has total assets of 8.9 billion U.S. dollars and has a large business network in California. Last year's profit was 13.58 million U.S. dollars and its market value is about 2.5 billion U.S. dollars. If you think this bank can do it, we can contact you directly now.
Wilbert, let’s discuss the acquisition of his shares!”
Jerry Kohlberg preached to Chu Huan.
$2.5 billion?
The price is acceptable. Chu Huan thought for a moment and said, "Let's get in touch."
Jerry Kohlberg and the others showed a hint of joy. This acquisition will be a very important acquisition for KKR this year.
And if Chu Huan succeeds in acquiring Alde Commercial Bank, then kkr will have one more bank they can cooperate with, which is also very important to kkr.
"Okay, we will report the acquisition status to Chu at any time."
Jerry Kohlberg smiled.
Chu Huan said, "For this matter, you can just contact David Maxwell of North America Aku. The acquisition of Alder Commercial Bank will be done in the name of North America Aku."
Before that, Chu Huan's original intention was to use one of the five investment companies, Little Boy, Beihai, Xingkong, Shenhai, and Langyan, to acquire commercial banks in North America.
But with the establishment of North America Aku, and in North America, Chu Huan didn't want too many people to know about his relationship with these five investment companies, so in the end, after weighing the pros and cons, Chu Huan decided to let North America Aku
Acquired Alder Commercial Bank.
After talking about this matter, Jerry Kohlberg talked about another business with Chu Huan.
"Chu, I received news that Jane Watson is looking to sell one-third of her B shares. I wonder if you are interested in taking over?"
Jane Watson, the daughter of Thomas John Watson, the founder of the legendary North American consortium B. With the death of Watson Sr., Watson Jr. retired from B. Watson Jr.'s younger brother Dick Watson failed to run for president of B. Watson
The family members are gradually withdrawing from the management of b.
Jane Watson, the daughter of Watson Sr., naturally also owns part of B's shares. Now the other party wants to sell one-third of her shares in B, which immediately caused quite a stir on Wall Street.
Jerry Kohlberg naturally knew the news, so he told Chu Huan about it at this time to see if Chu Huan was interested in acquiring it.
Chu Huan just thought about it briefly and said with a smile, "Forget it, I'm not very interested in b."
After Watson Jr. retired, B first entered the Leerson era. He served as B's president from 1971 to 1975 when he resigned. B's revenue increased from nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars and net profit of 12.7 billion U.S. dollars to annual revenue of 14.4 billion U.S. dollars and net profit.
$19.9 billion.
Learson retired as chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.
Learson's successor is Frank Carey, who is also the current president of B. By the time he had annual revenue of US$290.7 billion, net profit of US$36.1 billion, 350,000 employees, and 740,000 shareholders.
Together with Frank Carey's successor John Opel, the three became known as the Three Musketeers.
When John Opel retired, B accounted for 56% of the personal computer market, with revenue of $50 billion and net profit at a record high of $65.5 billion.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! In other words, during the 15-year term of the Three Musketeers of loc, B’s revenue increased from US$8.3 billion to US$50 billion, and its net profit increased from US$10.7 billion to US$10.7 billion.
65.5 billion US dollars, both revenue and net profit increased more than 6 times, with an average annual compound growth rate of 13.
It seems to be a very good data, but in fact, due to the overvaluation of b's stock price in the early 1970s, and the gradual rise of risk-free interest rates in North America, when the treasury bond interest rate reached a high of 14, although b's net profit increased during the Three Musketeers period,
6 times, but the stock price only increased by 1 times, and the valuation dropped by 3 times. It was only traded.
Of course, the most important thing is that the current stock price of b is too high and it is not the best time to buy it at all.
Although Chu Huan brought 1 billion U.S. dollars to North America this time, including the 2.5 billion U.S. dollars for the acquisition of Alder Commercial Bank and the 50 million left for North American Aku, Chu Huan still has to prepare 1.5 billion for North American Black and White Media.
The U.S. dollars were used, firstly, to acquire and expand the Shanhai Cinema Line in North America, and secondly, to acquire bo.
So at this time, Chu Huan only had 5.5 billion US dollars left in his hands.
US$5.5 billion is a drop in the bucket for B, which has a market value of US$40-50 billion, and profit growth does not meet Chu Huan's requirements.
In addition, when we get to Los Angeles, we will have to discuss the acquisition of DC with Warner, and we also need to prepare a sum of funds.
So after a brief consideration, Chu Huan rejected this seemingly tempting acquisition, but for Chu Huan, it was a bit tasteless.
"I thought you would be interested in b?" After returning to the apartment, Cao Yunshang helped Chu Huan take off his coat, and then asked Chu Huan curiously.
Chu Huan smiled and expressed his previous thoughts, "B is too big. Even if I get the shares of B from Jane Watson, I can only be an honest shareholder waiting for dividends. And the current stock price of B
It is obviously overvalued and now is not a good time to buy B.”
Cao Yunshang laughed and said, "Such a situation is indeed not the style of investment."
Chu Huan nodded and said, "So, something that looks good may not necessarily be really good."
When saying this, Chu Huan thought of an incident in later generations. A company with unknown territory acquired a business. Information was not developed at that time. Many people thought that this was a matter of promoting our country's prestige, but in fact it was
?
b successfully got rid of the loss-making computer hardware business and realized a magnificent transformation from hardware to services; it entered the fields of software and services with higher profit margins, and entered rapidly growing emerging markets, including developing countries and
Smart cities and other fields; he increased b's net profit margin from 85 to 16, creating a return of 300 for shareholders.
Look, people are basically treating you as a scapegoat, and the acquirer is taking the initiative to take advantage of you!
"Let's go to Los Angeles first, and then go to Las Vegas!"
After dealing with matters in New York, Chu Huan is going to Los Angeles to deal with matters at Apex Pictures, and then he and Cao Yunshang can relax in North America for a vacation, and the resort they chose is Las Vegas in North America.
Gas!
Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
Although Beverly Hills is called the Hills, it is actually a satellite city of Los Angeles, with an elected mayor, police department, fire department and other functional departments.
The reason why this place is so famous is naturally because it is where Hollywood stars and Los Angeles rich people live. Some people say that arriving here is like entering a paradise on earth.
Wilshire Avenue, the main street in Beverly Hills, is where banks and commercial buildings are located. There are countless top-notch department stores on this street.
The nearby Beverly Shopping Center is also a favorite of many celebrities. There are nearly 180 specialty stores in the center. The appearance is quite special, with the transparent escalators on the outside and the heavy rock restaurant as its two major features. It was used as a temporary hospital in the movie "Eruption"
right here.
After entering 1976, Chu Huan basically no longer lacks cash in his hands. Even if there are some huge acquisition plans, it is enough for Chu Huan to raise such a large amount of funds in a short time, so this year Yin Shi
, Chu Huan began to let people choose some luxurious residences for themselves in luxurious cities all over the world.
It is precisely because of this that Chu Huan will naturally not let Los Angeles go.
However, the real estate in Los Angeles has not been purchased yet, so Chu Huan left this matter to Kelly.
So after arriving in Los Angeles, after Chu Huan, Cao Yunshang and others checked into the Hilton Hotel, and after Kelly came over, the first thing Chu Huan asked about was about real estate.
"How's it going? Have you found the manor you were looking for?"
Kelly was sitting on the sofa in the living room. Since Cao Yunshang was here, she naturally wouldn't behave too much.
He just said to Chu Huan helplessly, "Boss, shouldn't we talk about the company's matters first and then personal matters?"
Chu Huan smiled and said, "You are here at Apex Pictures, so of course I believe it 100%!"
Kelly rolled her eyes and laughed, obviously not believing what Chu Huan said.
"Okay, let's talk about the situation of Apex Pictures first."
After the laughter, Chu Huan sat on the sofa and preached to Kelly with a smile.
Kelly nodded and said, "First of all, all the proceeds from the movie "Jaws" have been returned to the company's account."
The previous box office share of "Jaws" in North America, TV rights, and peripheral profits brought a total of 15.8 billion U.S. dollars to Apex Pictures, while Chu Huan took away 100 million U.S. dollars, leaving 58 million U.S. dollars for Apex Pictures.
Thousands of dollars in working capital.
Now, the box office revenue from all over the world except North America has been credited to Apex Pictures’ account.
According to statistics, the global box office of "Jaws" excluding North America totaled US$2.5 billion, and Apex Pictures received a share of US$07.5 billion. This is not all. There is also the video sales and rental business of "Jaws". As of now, it has
Providing US$6.8 billion to Apex Pictures, the video tape of the movie "Jaws" is still Brother Impression's best-selling movie video to date.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! At the same time, we also need to add the sales of peripherals of "Jaws", especially the authorization of an ice cream company to produce ice cream of the same name, plus the sales of its toy peripherals, this area is also
Brought $04.5 billion to Apex Pictures.
In other words, as of today, Apex Pictures has made a profit of US$34.6 billion from this movie.
Excluding the US$100 million that Chu Huan took away previously, according to common sense calculations, Apex Pictures should still have US$24.6 billion on its books.
But that's not actually the case.
"The project of Stallone's "Rocky" has been approved and has entered the shooting stage. The production cost is tentatively set at US$1 million. If the post-production publicity costs are added, the overall budget should be US$10 million."
The last time Chu Huan met Stallone who was looking for investment at Vertex Pictures, and then finalized Stallone's "Rocky", 76 years later, the filming of this movie has already begun.
It is expected to be released in December this year.
"Although the production of the movie "Rocky" used the company's previous funds, the current funds will definitely be used for promotion."
Chu Huan had already reserved a sum of funds for Apex Pictures before the movie "Jaws" was released.
"In addition, the script for Steven's new movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" has been completed, and now Steven is selecting actors. Including the salaries of all front and backstage staff, the production cost of this movie alone is as high as 20 million US dollars."
At this point, Kelly was silent for a moment, and then said to Chu Huan, "Should we still fully invest in this movie ourselves?"
The production cost of 20 million is already a super production for Hollywood at this stage.
According to the usual practice of Hollywood production companies, in order to reduce risks when dealing with such large-scale productions with unpredictable box office, they will only invest a small part of their own funds, and most of the remaining funds will be invested in
Use financing to run the film.
It doesn't mean big investment, it will definitely sell well at the box office. In the history of Hollywood, how many film companies have blindly believed in big productions, which led to their own losses and almost lost their pants?
That's why Kelly asked Chu Huan if the movie "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" requires full investment from the company!
If it were a work by another director, Chu Huan would definitely not allow Kelly to fully invest in it. Since he was working in Hollywood, he would naturally have to abide by the rules of the game here.
But that is compared to those conventional operations, such as some movies that Chu Huan has not survived or movies by filmmakers. Chu Huan will definitely let Apex Pictures do that.
But for Chu Huan, Spielberg is an unconventional weapon.
The most successful film director in the history of Hollywood, he rarely made a movie that lost money in his life.
Since this is the case, Chu Huan will naturally want Apex Pictures to fully invest in Spielberg's movie!
Kelly thought about the benefits that "Jaws" would bring to the company, so she didn't say anything. Although she didn't know Spielberg's achievements in later generations, Spielberg, who was now successful, was worthy of letting her go.
believe him.
"Okay, I will talk to Steven about this." Kelly pondered for a moment and said, "The other thing is the movie "Jaws 2". Steven has clearly rejected the opportunity to direct this movie.
idea!"
Spielberg's refusal to direct the movie "Jaws 2" is actually traceable. Throughout Spielberg's entire career, except for "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Jurassic Park"
Apart from Super P, Spielberg has never made a sequel to any other movie.
Last year, Spielberg publicly stated at the San Francisco Film Festival that all sequels are clumsy tricks.
"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"
"In addition, other Hollywood production companies have also called, hoping to participate in the production of this movie!"
If Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a super production with unpredictable box office, then "Jaws 2" is a predictable movie that sells money. The exact number of sales depends on the film.
The quality is up.
So when it was announced that Vertex Pictures was going to produce the second part of "Jaws", the entire Hollywood was alarmed and asked if they could cooperate.
Chu Huan thought for a moment and said, "Which company do you prefer?"
Cooperation is definitely necessary.
Although the movie "Jaws" made Vertex Pictures a lot of money, in the final analysis, Vertex Pictures is still a newcomer in Hollywood.
In the business world, if a rising star works alone without any background, the most likely result will not be to make money, but to be squeezed to death by the elders in the same industry.
Moreover, when the movie "Jaws" was produced, Chu Huan had already thought about this matter. The purpose was to use this movie to exchange for some friendships from other Hollywood film companies, not to mention that Chu Huan now has more
idea.
Kelly pondered for a moment and then said, "Emotionally speaking, I am actually more inclined to 20th Century Fox. After all, our cooperation on the movie "Star Wars" was quite good!"
Chu Huan glanced at Kelly helplessly and said, "Alan Hirschfield obviously regarded us as the ones who took advantage of us at first, and now you actually say that their cooperation with us is good?"
Kelly spread her hands and said, "At the beginning, we and 20th Century Fox were just willing to fight or suffer. It's not a scam or not. And since then, both parties have at least maintained a relatively good face, so I think
We should continue to maintain a cooperative relationship with them!”
Chu Huan shook his head and said, "Forget it about 20th Century Fox, I have other ideas for the movie "Jaws 2."
Kelly glanced at Chu Huan suspiciously and asked, "What do you think?"
Chu Huan smiled and said, "What kind of reaction will it cause in Hollywood if we sell all the box office proceeds of "Jaws 2" and its subsequent box office?"
Kelly was stunned for a moment, and then said seriously, "Then I will definitely become the most popular woman in Hollywood immediately, bar none!"
Chu Huan smiled easily and said, "In the past two days, you have released news that you have reached a consensus with the black and white influence in Hong Kong to jointly invest in "Jaws 2"."
Chu Huan's decision made Kelly fall into silence. After a while, she said, "Boss, I remember that the two of us were just talking about these production companies in Hollywood, right?"
Is there any problem with investing in "Jaws 2" with black and white imaging?
no problem!
But this does not solve the problems that Apex Pictures is facing now. Part of the investment share of "Jaws 2" must be used, otherwise Apex Pictures will become Hollywood's lost cause.
But this part was to be distributed to Hollywood production companies, but now Chu Huan wants Apex Pictures to give half of its investment share to Black and White Video.
Chu Huan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't let Apex Pictures become the public enemy of Hollywood. What you have to do now is, when other Hollywood studios find you, push all these people away."
Come to me."
Kelly's eyes became more and more suspicious, and she couldn't help but ask, "Boss, are you trying to trick that production company, or the entire Hollywood, right?"
Although what you did seems to have removed Apex Pictures, this kind of thing cannot be removed cleanly!"
Chu Huan reassured, "Don't worry, I just said that before Apex Pictures has grown up, we will not let him become a public enemy of Hollywood. I just want to exchange with one of the production companies."
Let’s look at our respective interests. Of course, he is looking at the immediate interests, and I am looking at the future interests!”
Seeing what Chu Huan said, Kelly couldn't say anything else and said, "Okay!"
Chu Huan continued to tell Kelly, "I have asked Black and White Media to look for cinema acquisitions in North America, and will also build our own cinemas.
With sufficient financial support, by the time "Rocky" is released, we will have our own theater chain in North America. In this case, Apex Pictures will have more chips in its hands!"
In fact, if Chu Huan had waited any longer, in 1987, the North American Department of Justice would have given a mild interpretation of the Paramount Act, and from then on, the production company would have been able to buy theater channels again.
Kelly didn't know about these things. When she heard that Chu Huan had started to acquire theaters in North America, she immediately said excitedly.
"If this is the case, it would be really great. Compared with those big studios, one of the biggest weaknesses of Apex Pictures is its own distribution channels. If it has its own theaters, then Apex Pictures
You will have a greater say in Hollywood!"
Chu Huan said with a smile, "This is just the beginning. We can temporarily rest assured about theater issues in North America, but artist resources, global distribution channels, and studios are all issues between Apex Pictures and the major studios in Hollywood."
The difference is that only after all these things are prepared can Apex Pictures complete a truly magnificent transformation and transform from an independent production company to a top Hollywood production company!"
Kelly smiled lightly and said, "That will all happen in the future. At least for the company now, the most important second step has been completed."
The first step is to establish its own production company and achieve a good start. "Jaws" has helped Apex Pictures complete this step.
The second step is to have its own distribution channels in North America, which will be completed after the North American Shanhai Cinema Line completes the initial acquisition.
third step
Kelly told Chu Huan seriously, "I think the company should start preparing to build its own studio now!"
"Jaws" alone earned Apex Pictures more than US$300 million, and this profit is still continuing. According to the predictions of Apex Pictures, the final profit of this movie will exceed US$500 million, which makes Kelly
Now I feel quite confident!
Chu Huan thought for a while and said, "Okay, let the company come up with a budget and show it to me then!"
Kelly is confident, and Chu Huan is even more confident.
After all, what Kelly sees is only the revenue of Apex Pictures, while what Chu Huan sees is the revenue of his entire group company.
The reason why many companies succumb to crazy expansion development strategies is because they do not have sufficient funds in their hands. To deal with possible emergencies, it will directly cause the company's capital chain to be broken.
But for Chu Huan at this time, he didn't need to consider this aspect at all.
Nowadays, I am afraid that few people dare to say that they can match Chu Huan's cash flow.
"Okay, I will let the people in the company prepare this matter when I return to the company tomorrow!" After finishing speaking, Kelly asked Chu Huan, "How many days will you and Yun Shang stay in Hollywood?"
Chu Huan said, "Seven days. I still have a few friends to meet here. By the way, we can finalize the matter of Apex Pictures building its own studio!"
When she was in Xiangjiang before, Chu Huan had already made an appointment with Li Xiaolong to get together in Los Angeles.
Kelly continued, "What about Jaws 2 with other Hollywood studios?"
Chu Huan smiled and said, "I will announce it after I leave Los Angeles and arrive in Las Vegas. It will also make those people anxious!"
"clear!"
After the business conversation was over, Chu Huan said to Kelly, "Now you should tell me about the villa I asked you to find, right?"