The Boeing 747 private jet was flying over the Pacific Ocean, and Lin Zuhui in the cabin was having a party, enjoying the party life in the air with his new-age four beauties.
Lin Zuhui was sitting on the sofa, wearing casual clothes, with his legs crossed, looking at Lin Zhilin, Lin Xinru, Fan Binbin, and Zhang Baizi in front of him with interest.
At this time, the four of them were singing K, twisting their delicate bodies, very happy.
Their faces were somewhat rosy, and they had obviously drunk some wine. From time to time, they sent flirtatious glances at Lin Zuhui, exuding a charming allure.
Four people and four colors make men eager to move.
Of course, Lin Zuhui also knows that they will eventually be left out by him because he will continue to welcome new beauties.
In fact, if given the opportunity, Lin Zuhui has already begun to prepare for new challenges.
To sum up the past, he was so dedicated that he missed many opportunities. It was time to enjoy life.
15 hours later.
The plane arrived in Los Angeles, and Lin Zuhui and his four girls got off the plane.
Those who are careful can notice that the walking posture of the four women is a bit strange.
Could it be that they are airsick?
After arriving in Los Angeles, Lin Zuhui and his four daughters moved into a villa in Santa Monica, Los Angeles. It is very close to the airport and closer to the seaside, making it very suitable for vacation.
Of course, Lin Zuhui spent a day with them and then assigned them to the staff to have fun in Los Angeles on their own.
.........
Barings Bank, Los Angeles Branch.
In the conference room, Lin Zuhui listened to the progress of Harold's team on the acquisition of Hilton Hotels.
Harold said: "Currently, several American consortiums are also interested in Hilton Hotels, but the boss can rest assured that they don't have much determination or funds, they just hope to pick up the slack. I guess these consortiums were invited by Bollenbach
Yes, the purpose is just to get them to raise prices.”
Lin Zuhui nodded. At this time, Blackstone and other consortiums simply did not have such great courage. What is important is that the U.S. economy has not yet been as brilliant as it was from 2002 to 2007. At present, everyone hopes to use funds for investment in technology and the Internet.
.
However, he still said: "Bollenbach is very smart and very stable. He will not sell the Hilton Hotel cheaply. So, from now on, you can go to the negotiations and tell them that we can increase the offer to US$30 per unit."
Shares or above.”
Harold was not surprised. The price was what he expected. What was slightly surprising was that the boss seemed to urgently need Hilton.
"OK!"
Lin Zuhui added: "Anyway, it is Hilton who takes the initiative, so we can show greater sincerity this time. You will implement the specifics, and just report the progress to me every time!"
"No problem, boss! By the way, we have already found the position of president. His name is Chris Nassetta. He is an experienced hotel professional manager with a very good resume..."
Lin Zuhui kept this person in mind and would confirm with Langham Hotel Group later.
"Yes. After the acquisition, we will formally invite you."
"OK"
At this time, Lin Zuhui had a new plan for this acquisition, that is, after acquiring the Hilton Hotel, he would discuss cooperation with Bvlgari Jewelry, and the two parties would cooperate to establish the 'Bulgari Hotel'. Hilton had rich hotel management experience, and Bvlgari Jewelry
Lidong has the influence of a luxury brand, and the cooperation between the two parties will definitely be a highlight; in addition, Hilton will also establish a new luxury hotel brand, targeting those creators of fashion trends.
As a result, coupled with the previously planned relocation of the headquarters, cost control, and increasing the speed of franchise development, Hilton is expected to undergo huge changes in five years.
So, if Hilton were to go public in 2004, Barings would have three years to cash out part of its shares. It is expected that it would not only be able to recover costs, but also earn a lot of cash flow, and still have a large amount of shares left.
This acquisition is just to make money. He will not hold the Hilton Hotel because he has no shortage of hotel assets.
In the previous life, Blackstone acquired Hilton Hotels and only used more than 6 billion US dollars in cash and 20 billion US dollars in loans (including Hilton's 6 billion US dollars in debt). In the few years of operation, it used financial technology to prompt Hilton to repay nearly 4 billion US dollars.
Loans (part of the debt converted into preferred shares, bond repurchases and restructuring, etc.). At the same time, after the listing, the debt was on the Hilton Group, and the value of Blackstone’s shareholding in Hilton became US$15 billion, and Blackstone did not
Instead of cashing out in batches over many years, we finally made a profit of US$14 billion.
In about ten years, a profit of more than 2 times is obviously very generous. Generally speaking, as long as it beats inflation, it is a very good investment.
........
Los Angeles, Beverly Hills.
Harold once again brought his team to Hilton headquarters to start negotiations with Bollenbach's team.
"Mr. Bollenbach, we can consider a price of more than $30!"
Hilton President Bollenbach was overjoyed. He knew that Harold's statement proved that Barings Bank had attached great importance to this deal and was even determined to win it. If so, he, as Hilton's side, had an advantage in the negotiation.
.
"That's really gratifying. We have finally entered real negotiations. On behalf of Hilton's shareholders, I welcome it."
Facing the reversal of the situation, Harold didn't have any trouble in his heart. Originally, judging from the boss's intention, he was afraid that he would definitely win if it was less than 40 US dollars.
Therefore, Harold immediately said, "President Bach, since we have shown such sincerity, can Hilton also show sincerity?"
Bollenbach said with a smile: "Of course we are very sincere in selling Hilton Hotels. This is the wish of all shareholders. After all, Hilton Hotels' stock has been seriously below its asset value for a long time and is the most undervalued of all large hotel groups."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Old fox, it is not simple!
Harold couldn't help but sigh that Bollenbach had really become cunning now that he had taken the initiative.
He said seriously: "Actually, we don't want Hilton to take the initiative to introduce other buyers to participate in the bidding."
Bollenbach smiled and said: "If Bahrain Bank is sincere enough, we will naturally choose you with a higher price!"
Harold had no choice but to stop mentioning this topic and focus on the negotiations. This was also the real substantive negotiation of Barings Bank on the Hilton Hotel.
The first two months were just testing!
.........
Lin Zuhui came to Pixar Animation Production Company, and his boss Jobs brought Catmull, John Lasseter and others to meet him.
In fact, although Jobs is the major shareholder of Pixar Animation (a listed company), holding about 49% of the shares, Jobs is not the core team of Pixar Animation. The reason for this is of course that Jobs is a layman in animation, and Jobs mainly leads Pixar IPO, focusing on
After returning to Apple, he gave up the position of president to Catmull.
According to Jobs, he still chooses to meet with the Pixar core team once a week. It happened that Lin Zuhui had an idea and made an appointment this time.
As the intermediary, Jobs introduced everyone, and then everyone sat down.
Lin Zuhui explained his purpose: "That's it. I want to entrust Pixar Animation to produce a three-dimensional animation for us. Is it feasible?"
Three-dimensional animation is currently an American patent. It really started with "Toy Story" in 1995. However, three-dimensional animation in mainland China will probably not be available for another seven or eight years.
The Wanhui Comics Company owned by Lin Zuhui also has an animation company, both of which use two-dimensional technology; to put it simply, it is the difference between plane and elevation.
Catmull said awkwardly: "We have signed five cooperative animation contracts with Disney. If Mr. Lin wants to produce three-dimensional animation, I am afraid it will be too late."
Lin Zuhui did not back down, but said: "I'm not in a hurry, I can make it in three years!"
Catmull said with a smile: "Mr. Lin doesn't know that a three-dimensional animation with huge investment usually takes two years to start, so three years is not a long time."
Lin Zuhui was a little annoyed. This tmd is giving you money to do business, but no one is doing it. Are you going to find the studio founded by Steven Spielberg?
He didn’t even know what it was called. DreamWorks had already been copied by him and had already been registered in the United States. It would definitely not be called this again.
Jobs was a little disappointed when he saw Lin Zuhui. After all, the two were good friends and partners. He immediately helped and said: "Maybe it is a good work? Catmull, you should understand that my friend Lin is a legend...
.”
Catmull asked curiously: "What kind of animation is it? I need to trouble Mr. Lin to go there in person. To be honest, I'm really curious." In fact, he had already relaxed. Jobs was the boss after all.
Lin Zuhui took out an English document and said: "This is the outline of this animation. When I saw this manuscript, because the content in it is closely related to my country and nation, I immediately felt that I had to invest in it."
Catmull took the manuscript and did not read it immediately. Instead, he handed it over to John Lasseter, who was in charge of creativity at Pixar. After all, he was in charge of technology.
John Lasseter took the manuscript and soon showed a look of surprise on his face. After reading it, he said: "The idea of "Kung Fu Panda" is very good. If it can be filmed, it will not only achieve good results in the United States, but also in China."
Better results can be achieved.”
Yes, it is "Kung Fu Panda" that Lin Zuhui feels that the Chinese should get involved in. Although they cannot produce a three-dimensional masterpiece like "Kung Fu Panda", if Hong Kong DreamWorks is an investor (Lin Zuhui also has a personal stake), then join Hong Kong's
As a martial arts instructor, it can definitely be said to be a "gorgeous and beautiful co-production", although it is a bit far-fetched.
Catmull also looked seriously, with an expression of surprise on his face.
After a while, he said: "It is indeed a very good idea to combine kung fu and pandas. Chinese kung fu is very popular in Hollywood, and pandas are China's national treasures. The combination is naturally very marketable...
The upright, brave and fearless Tiger Master...the friendly, naughty but warm-hearted Golden Monkey...the maternal crane...the great master of the generation, Master Raccoon..."
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In fact, this script outline is already the outline work of a Hong Kong screenwriter. As for Lin Zuhui, he doesn't remember much about it.
Lin Zuhui took the opportunity to say: "The production cost is not a problem, we are willing to spend any amount of investment!"
Now it is no longer a question of money, but a question of China’s ‘dignity’!
Besides, he can completely pay for the production fee of a mere US$100 million out of his own pocket; of course, DreamWorks also joined in with a name.
In fact, it is impossible to lose money. As long as it becomes a hit, the peripheral products of "Kung Fu Panda" will be enough for him to make a lot of money.
Catmull put down the script and said: "We can take over this production, but I hope Mr. Lin will only be an investor and we will be responsible for the rest; after all, we can make it better distributed in Hollywood."
p, Pixar Animation is not a distribution company, the animations they produce are all distributed by Disney.
Lin Zuhui said calmly: "Of course this is not what I want to see. This is the culture of our country. Of course I can't just be an investor. Money is not what I care about. The most I can pay is the production fee and the distribution rights in the United States.
And my film company, DreamWorks, will be producing in name, for example, we have martial arts instructors."
After everyone heard this, they looked at each other, and finally Catmull said: "Indeed, this is Chinese culture, just like "Mulan" back then was also Chinese culture. Okay, we will continue this production, but in terms of time
No restrictions shall be imposed.”
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Lin Zuhui agreed immediately, and there was no rush at all.
For the next detailed discussion, Lin Zuhui asked people from DreamWorks to talk to Pixar Animation.
At this time, DreamWorks has gradually developed into a one-stop industry including film production, distribution, and theaters, aiming to restructure the Hong Kong film industry. Of course, this reorganization is inseparable from the mainland market.
........
Negotiations between Barings Bank and Hilton Group ended in late December. The final result was: Barings Bank fully privatized Hilton Group at 38.5 yuan per share (total equity of 342 million), involving an amount of 17.66 billion U.S. dollars, including assuming debt of 45
billion dollars.
For a time, it set off a huge wave of public opinion in the United States, and Barings Bank also took the opportunity to be widely known to the world.
For this acquisition, Barings Bank needed to spend 13.16 billion US dollars, but actually spent 4 billion US dollars. The remaining 9.16 billion US dollars were all loans. A total of ten banks including Citibank, HSBC, and Goldman Sachs provided loans.
As for the debt of 9.16 billion, it is naturally linked to the Hilton Group, which brings the debt of Hilton Group to 13.66 billion U.S. dollars, and the debt ratio is as high as about 75%. Of course, invisible assets are not included in this.
At the same time, Lin Zuhui, the boss of Barings Bank, also became popular in the European and American world, and instantly became a capitalist tycoon. After all, this is an acquisition of nearly 20 billion U.S. dollars, and there is no such merger and acquisition case in Asia.
!
Marriott Hotels, Wyndham Hotel Group, and InterContinental Hotels, which are competitors of the Hilton Group, feel that a stronger opponent has been born. Because Barings Bank is an investment bank, if it acquires the Hilton Group, it will inevitably increase its efforts in development, otherwise what will happen?
Take profit and exit.
And Lin Zuhui has always been a strong man in the capital world. Although he is only a Chinese, he is also a well-known tycoon in the United States with both strength and ability.
Lin Zuhui came to the United States again to have a meeting with the Harold team.
"When can CEO Chris Nassetta report?" Lin Zuhui said.
Harold replied: "In a week, he will officially take over as Hilton President. I have already negotiated with Bolenbach, and he ensures that we complete the perfect relationship."
Lin Zuhui nodded and said: "Bolenbach is a talent, and he has contributed a lot to the Hilton Group today. Unfortunately, he cannot join us, otherwise he will be investigated."
Harold said: "Well. In addition to Chris Nassetta taking over as CEO, we are also preparing to recruit senior talents from Marriott and InterContinental to supplement Hilton's professional manager team."
Hilton Group is about to usher in great development and naturally needs talents to join.
Lin Zuhui reminded: "Be careful not to get involved in a lawsuit!"
"OK!"
Finally, Lin Zuhui said: "When the Hilton management team is about the same, I still have things to explain, please contact me again!"