Hollywood Hunter

The Los Angeles Country Club in Beverly Hills.

The time is July 3rd, Sunday.

As soon as Simon got off the car in the parking lot, a young man with the appearance of an assistant in a white shirt greeted him and said: "Mr. Westeros, Mr. Welch, they are already waiting for you, please come with me."

Following the young man into the top golf course in Los Angeles, which covers the largest area, Simon soon saw the other three people talking and laughing on the edge of the course. Noting Simon's arrival, the three came over together. One of them, a bald middle-aged man in his fifties, was the current General Electric chairman and CEO Jack Welch.

"Hello, Simon, I'm so glad to see you." A few people approached, and Jack Welch looked at Simon with a gentle smile, shook hands with him intimately, and introduced the other two: "This is Robert ·White, he is now in charge of the business of the NBC television network. This is Larry Coupin, he is the major shareholder of New World Entertainment, haha, you must know this."

After receiving an invitation from Jack Welch by accident, Simon had learned a little about the meeting in advance, and he naturally knew the other two at this time.

Robert White was originally the head of the Financial Services Group of General Electric Systems, and is currently the CEO and President of NBC Television Network. In all fairness, Simon feels that Jack Welch’s appointment can only be described as bad, a typical layman leading an expert.

Of course, this is an internal matter of General Electric, and Simon does not intend to comment on this.

Larry Coupin is the major shareholder of New World Entertainment. He and another partner, Harry Sloan, jointly hold more than 40% of New World Entertainment.

Simon greeted the three people separately, and they all entered the court together.

Each was well aware of the purpose of this meeting, and none of them was eager to get to the point. They just chatted about recent current affairs casually while playing. It is an election year, and the upcoming presidential election is naturally a very popular conversation.

"The New York Times article on "Who Will Be a Millionaire" is very interesting. I really think it is a good choice for Bush and Dukakis to participate in this show," Jack Weir Qi changed a club from the caddy, walked back and looked at Simon, and seemed to ask casually: "Speaking of which, Simon, Bush or Dukakis, which one do you support?"

The bipartisan candidates in the United States were finalized in May of this year. They are the current Vice President George Bush and the Governor of Massachusetts Michael Dukakis.

Simon noticed that Robert White and Larry Coupin looked at him intentionally or unintentionally, but shrugged casually and said, "As a Californian, I certainly support Dukakis."

Jack Welch swung a shot, pushed the ball into the hole, nodded in satisfaction, turned to Simon, and said, "What if Bush wins?"

Simon watched as Larry Coupin, who had been divided into his own group, walked over with his cue, gave way to the side, and said: "If there is excess funds, then buy as much as possible in military industry and oil shares."

When Simon said this, the expressions of Robert White and Larry Coupin obviously changed.

This young man made a net worth of $2 billion for himself in just two years. Although he had a casual tone at this time, Robert White and Larry Coupin immediately remembered this sentence. In my mind, make up your mind and study it afterwards.

Jack Welch concealed his inner fluctuations, watching Larry Coupin miss the ball without surprise, and asked: "Simon, what do you mean?"

Simon seemed to look regretfully at the ball launched by Larry Coupin, saying: "It's very simple. Bush is coming to power, and war is about to go. War is the quickest factor to promote oil prices."

Robert White interjected at this time: "Simon, if you make these words public, it will definitely cause strong controversy."

"So, I definitely won't say that in public."

Jack Welch all agreed and chuckled.

The four played a few more holes, and Jack Welch, who had been waiting for Simon to take the initiative to speak, found that the patience of this young man seemed to be stronger than that of the three middle-aged men, so he took the initiative to turn to the topic: "Simon, about the new world Entertainment, I still hope you can consider my suggestion some time ago."

The two stood between the greens watching Robert White and Larry Coupin hit the ball. Simon glanced at Jack Welch and said, "Now? Jack, don't you plan to adjust the offer?"

It’s just that "Who Will Be a Millionaire", which has just become popular, is expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars in profits to Daenerys Pictures. If Daenerys Pictures is a listed company, even if calculated at a price-earnings ratio of 10 times, the market value of this company can exceed $1 billion.

Jack Welch had proposed to use shares of New World Entertainment as a bargaining chip to participate in Daenerys Pictures in several calls with Simon, but his valuation of Daenerys Pictures was well below $1 billion. .

"I have to say, your earning power is really amazing," Jack Welch said: "However, Simon, I heard that Daenerys Pictures and ABC did not agree on the distribution of benefits. You still In the stalemate, the prospects of this project are not so sure."

"The profit share I set aside for ABC exceeds the profitability of all their TV shows in recent years."

Jack Welch said: "However, Daenerys Pictures seems to be asking more. Don’t you worry that ABC will really abandon this project? As far as I know, according to the contract, Daenerys Pictures no longer Maybe transfer this project to other TV networks."

Simon shook his head and said: "If ABC just thinks that Daenerys Pictures has got too much inner imbalance and abandons this project, then I can only let them continue to be imbalanced. Of course I will feel a little regretful, but give up this file. The impact of the show on Daenerys Pictures was not as great as expected. On the contrary, it is actually good, because in the next bargaining process, Daenerys’s competitors will realize that if I If you don’t want to compromise, then you won’t compromise.”

Jack Welch said: "But you really want to get New World Entertainment, don't you? Simon, if you want to get what you want, but you are not willing to pay a sufficient price, this is definitely not enough."

"If I don't bid, Jack, the most likely outcome that New World Entertainment will face is bankruptcy and liquidation. At that time, the creditors' settlement priority will be very low. Your $220 million loan may only be recovered in half. Now , I can guarantee that General Electric will recover all the funds, this is the price I paid."

"Simon, you seem to be very resistant to cooperating with others, which is not good. Even General Electric, we often establish joint ventures with other companies."

Simon saw that Larry Coupin and Robert White had finished a hole. They walked down the green together and asked, "Jack, why do you want to cooperate with other companies?"

"This can make full use of the resources of both parties to achieve a win-win goal."

"Yes," Simon nodded and said, "So, if I agree to GE's participation in Daenerys Pictures, how can you help me?"

"We have the NBC television network, which can help distribute TV programs produced by Daenerys Pictures. We also have strong capital strength to support the rapid expansion of Daenerys Pictures."

Simon nodded again, with a smile on his face, and said, "Jack, but the truth is that the TV shows produced by Daenerys Pictures are not short of buyers. On the contrary, if it weren't for the few TV shows in the hands of Daenerys Pictures. , Maybe we won’t be here today, this is a seller’s market. Therefore, the NBC platform is not that attractive to me. Secondly, perhaps most Hollywood companies are always in a state of lack of funds, but , Daenerys Pictures is not the case. My personal assets are enough to support the expansion of my business, and Daenerys’s profitability is also very strong, which is enough for it to easily get what it wants from major banks. The loan. General Electric’s financial strength is also not very attractive to me."

Jack Welch shook his head and said, "Simon, you are still young. Many things are not as simple as you thought."

"Only people with poor ability can complicate simple things," Simon said with a single-handed swing of the club, "But I prefer simplicity and directness, Jack, I don’t mind working with others. The premise is, as What you just said is that both parties must be able to achieve a win-win goal, instead of selling my fast-growing company at a low price, just in exchange for resources I don’t need."

"In this case, Simon and General Electric can only fight for their own interests," Jack Welch gestured to Larry Coupin, and said: "We have negotiated with Larry, and GE will pass the debt. In exchange for 90% of New World Entertainment’s shares, the relevant contract will be signed next week. Now, if Daenerys Pictures wants our shares, GE’s offer is $300 million. In addition, NBC also I hope to get two reality shows, "Survivor" and "Big Brother" that Daenerys Pictures is developing."

"I really hope to get New World Entertainment. I don't hide this." Simon stopped and said to Jack Welch: "But, in the final analysis, this company is not as attractive to me as you think. Big. I prefer only Marvel Entertainment under this company because I want to own a comics company. As for the other assets of New World Entertainment, Jack, these are very helpful to the development of Daenerys Pictures. But for General Electric, it’s completely dispensable. If you hold this company in your hands, the end result will only slowly decay. Therefore, I will not accept such an offer, 250 million US dollars, which is The limit I can give includes all shares of New World Entertainment, not just the 90% in your hands."

Jack Welch obviously cannot know Simon's inevitable attitude towards Marvel, and Simon's remarks fully fit his views on New World Entertainment.

Although this scale is not comparable to the Big Seven, it can be described as a complete entertainment company. In addition to the comics department of Marvel, it also includes New World Pictures, New World Television, New World Video, New World International and several other previous mergers. Production and distribution company.

However, with the stock market crash last year and the ongoing Hollywood screenwriter’s strike that caused New World Entertainment’s business to fall into trouble, with the exception of Marvel Entertainment, a relatively independent subsidiary that was barely affected and barely able to remain profitable, New World Entertainment’s Other departments are losing money.

If Simon doesn't want it, General Electric can only choose to lay off employees and provide as few resources as possible to barely maintain these departments.

The most direct result of this is to cause the value of New World Entertainment to depreciate more rapidly.

In fact, if it were not for Simon’s interest in New World Entertainment, GE’s management had actually been more inclined to liquidate New World Entertainment in order to recover losses as much as possible.

Jack Welch also stopped with Simon. After a moment of silence, he said: "Simon, what about the two reality shows that NBC needs?"

Simon’s words are indeed correct. If it weren’t for the success of "Who Will Be a Millionaire", the other three reality show projects in the hands of Daenerys Pictures have attracted the attention of General Electric. In a short time, there will indeed be no This meeting.

It's already July, and the autumn season is coming soon.

Although NBC’s situation in the previous years was better than that of ABC and CBS, in the generally bleak autumn file after the strike, if several other companies get from Daenerys Pictures like "Who Will Be a Millionaire" NBC is indifferent to such a reality show. Then, the result is likely to cause NBC to quickly fall below the other two TV networks in the ratings ranking after this fall season.

As for Fox Television Network, it has not yet been regarded as a threat by the three major players.

Simon felt the change in Jack Welch’s attitude and smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth. He said, "Jack, if we reach an agreement on New World Entertainment, you can get a reality show. I would recommend "Survivor", but In terms of profit distribution, I will not make too many concessions."

Jack Welch asked: "Simon, do you think "Survivor" can reach the ratings of "Who Will Be a Millionaire"?"

"I can't guarantee, but you have already missed an opportunity. If you miss it again, I can only say regret. However, among the remaining three reality shows, my most optimistic is Survivor."

Jack Welch was silent for a moment while holding the club, then looked back at Larry Coupin.

Larry Coupin knew that he didn't have much right to speak here, but he nodded slightly. Once New World Entertainment goes bankrupt, as a shareholder, he will actually suffer the most, because New World Entertainment’s shares will become worthless. At the beginning, he and a few partners only spent more than 10 million U.S. dollars on New World Pictures. In the following years, they basically used other people's money for capital operations. In this situation, they can still recover some funds.

"Then," Jack Welch no longer hesitated, stretched out his hand to Simon, and said, "Deal."