Hollywood Hunter

In the study of the front cabin of the Boeing 767, Lady C, Claire Gein, knocked on the door to remind her that she had arrived in the airspace of Japan.

Simon picked one at random and put it on to see the time.

Japan is 18 hours ahead of the east coast of the United States. It is now November 5th, which is more than 10 o'clock on Monday morning.

The purpose of this trip to Japan was to meet with Akio Furui, President of Matsushita, and it was not a whim.

Since the Hurst family stepped in and took away the 20% of ESPN's shares from Simon, he had an idea to find a way to get Panasonic to voluntarily withdraw from the transaction.

The Hearst family has recently acquired ESPN shares from Reynolds Nabesque for only 180 million U.S. dollars. I don’t know if it has used its own “influence” again, which is a full 2000 lower than Simon’s original offer. Ten thousand U.S. dollars.

However, although he also has a lot of chips in his hands, Simon has no idea of ​​forcing Panasonic to withdraw.

The market value of Panasonic in this era is comparable to that of industry giants such as DuPont and General Electric in the United States. Daenerys Entertainment, as a local snake, uses some of its own advantages to force Panasonic to withdraw from the acquisition. It is not without the possibility of success, but it seems to do so. Very unwise.

Compared with the Hearst family's overwhelming power, Simon hopes to cooperate.

The development of the Westeros system will only touch the interests of more and more people in the future. In this case, if you want to continue to expand, you must draw as many allies as possible instead of continuously creating enemies. This is the decision that Simon has made in recent months when he is constantly thinking about the development route of the Westeros system. Even if the Westeros system is strong enough in the future, he does not intend to change this thinking.

Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment started contacting Panasonic last week, and a rough cooperation draft was sent in advance. Simon and Akio Furui finally agreed to meet this afternoon.

As it was approaching noon, Simon and his party got off the plane, and Panasonic did not neglect and prepared a luncheon.

However, the scale of the luncheon is very small. If it is not a translation, there are only two people, Simon and Akio Furui. I didn't intend to make everyone know about his sudden arrival in Japan, and Simon was happy to hear about it.

Moreover, only Akio Furui appeared at the luncheon, and Simon also roughly guessed the reason.

The purpose of Simon's trip to Japan is to persuade Panasonic to withdraw from the MCA acquisition. For Panasonic, after the death of the founder Matsushita Konosuke last year, this huge corporate giant is not in a single mind. Akio Furui hopes to acquire MCA, Panasonic There are actually quite a few internal oppositions. Akio Furui probably didn't want news of his meeting with Simon to spread.

Inside an exquisite Japanese restaurant in downtown Osaka.

Akio Furui is a somewhat short old man in his sixties. He wears glasses and looks a little unsmiling.

After everyone introduced each other, they came to a box.

A total of four people, Akio Furui and his translator, a tall and thin middle-aged man.

Simon took Claire Gein. Because of the frequent economic cooperation between Australia and Japan in the 1980s, Girl C, who graduated from the University of Melbourne, majored in civil engineering and also took Japanese as an elective, and reached a very high level, so she was more than enough to serve as an interpreter.

Speaking of, the four ABCD vases that Janet chose for herself, although they don’t have the high-level academic qualifications of the new housekeeper Alice Ferguson, they are all at the elite level. Otherwise, the new housekeeper will not be the first. One day I was pitted by Girl C.

According to women, ABCD can complement Simon.

For example, C Girl majored in'civil engineering' which Simon had no knowledge of. Japanese is also considered a weakness of Simon.

The four people sat cross-legged on the floor at a typical Japanese-style dining table. At first they chatted casually about some topics. After the waiter had lunch on one end, the topic was slightly relaxed.

Girl C does not shy away from it, being very close to Simon, exhaled as he leaned in his ear and followed the opposite translation: "Simon, what do you think of the current situation of the Japanese economy, will it continue to deteriorate?"

Simon was skillfully holding his chopsticks to taste the sashimi in front of him, and then he looked at Akio Furui on the opposite side and said, "The deterioration will not be enough, but it should continue to decline for several years."

The middle-aged translator also whispered in the ear of Akio Furui.

After listening to the translation, Akio Furui seemed a little unbelievable, and asked something.

Girl C said in real time: "The Japanese government has taken a lot of rescue measures, and the foundation of the Japanese economy is very solid. Shouldn't it continue to be sluggish for a long time?"

Simon said: "I have always been a little concerned about this. The Bank of Japan has recently started to lower interest rates again. In my opinion, this is very unwise. The bubble in the Japanese economy has not completely dissipated, especially the real estate bubble. Now it is anxious to lower interest rates. Increasing liquidity will only allow capital to flow into the real estate market and will not benefit the real economy."

"You mean, does Japan need to completely abandon the real estate industry?"

Simon nodded and smiled: "This is a very difficult choice, but it is also a must."

"Simon, when do you think the Japanese economy will start to recover?"

Simon smiled and shook his head: "I don't know this. There have been many economic crises in history. Some countries can survive it in two or three years without pain or itching. However, some countries will fail and remain in decline. The key is to See how the Japanese government does it."

"So, Simon, what do you think is the most serious problem facing the Japanese economy other than the real estate bubble?"

Simon didn't expect that Akio Furui would be chasing after these issues related to the national economy. He noticed the translator who seemed to be more focused than Akio Furui, and he roughly guessed something. After all, Cersei Capital's operations around the Japanese stock market last year can indeed be regarded as a classic. Moreover, Simon's own rise history is also considered legendary. He has accumulated huge amounts of capital by relying on bets on the macroeconomic level several times in a row.

After thinking about it for a moment, Simon didn't have any secrets. Anyway, he said now that even if someone cares about the future of a country, few people would easily follow the opinions of an outsider.

"I think the most serious problem facing the Japanese economy is corporate debt. If this problem is not resolved, the Japanese economy may continue to be depressed, and it may even last for more than ten years."

"We have lowered bank interest rates, which should ease the cash flow pressure on companies."

"No, Furui, you made a mistake." Simon shook his head and said, "The problem with Japanese companies is not lack of money, but not daring to borrow any more. Because after the stock market bubble burst, as the market value plummeted, many Japanese companies In the next few years, these Japanese companies will only focus on reducing their liabilities in order to make their balance sheets look healthier. Therefore, measures such as lowering interest rates will have an effect on the real industry. Not big."

Across the dining table, Akio Furui finally stopped asking questions continuously, thinking for a moment, and then said again: "This sounds like an unsolvable situation."

Simon nodded: "Yes, if companies are determined to reduce debt and dare not borrow money, it will definitely cause a decline in liquidity and further deflation. Once this situation occurs, the entire country's economy will lose its vitality and will never recover."

Akio Furui thought for a moment again, still raised his head and looked at Simon: "Is there really no solution?"

Simon said: "The solution is actually not without. Roosevelt did a good job back then. The key to vigorously developing infrastructure construction through government investment is to spend money. However, Japan’s infrastructure construction is already very complete. It’s better to spend the money, it’s best to spend it abroad."

After listening to the translation, Akio Furui smiled and said, "Simon, you are a very honest person."

Simon roughly understood the meaning of Akio Furui’s words and understood the meaning, and smiled and said, "Yes, if I follow my intention this time, I should persuade you to keep cash as much as possible and not to invest abroad. However, I I feel that Japan’s more appropriate investment targets should be emerging developing countries, such as Asian countries and Eastern European countries. The United States is not a very good choice, and Hollywood, for Panasonic, is even more outdated."

Hearing Simon talk about Hollywood, Akio Furui didn't change the subject, but seriously asked: "Simon, why is Hollywood not a good choice for Panasonic?"

Simon thought for a while and said, "Furui, do you know the'Hollywood Ledger'?"

Akio Furui nodded and said, "I have heard about a common accounting method used by Hollywood studios, which converts most of the profits into expenditures in order to reduce taxes and share based on creative staff."

"This is just one kind of Hollywood ledger," Simon nodded, and said, "In fact, there is another kind of Hollywood ledger for outsiders. For example, Panasonic, you spent 10 million U.S. dollars to invest in a film, and got 100 million U.S. dollars in North America. Box office, then, how much do you think you can get?"

Akio Furui thought for a moment, and said, "If Panasonic buys MCA, I think, excluding the production and distribution costs, the company can make at least 30 million U.S. dollars, right?"

"No, even if Panasonic becomes the boss of MCA, you may still lose money."

"How to say?"

"I heard that you intend to let Vassarman and Simberg continue to run the company. According to the example I just gave, with a $10 million investment and a $100 million box office, you seem to be able to make more than $30 million. But. It is more likely that Vassarman will sign a very generous share contract with the creator, and 20% of the net profit will go to the director, such as Spielberg, and 20% of the net profit will go to the starring player, such as Dustin Hoffman. These big coffees. Then, there are also the producer’s rake and the higher publicity costs that are destined to be even higher after the big sale. Even if the $10 million investment movie gets $100 million in the box office, you may not make a profit. Divide the money."

"Simon, I don't think this will happen."

"Actually, this has already happened. Furui, you can ask someone to investigate the "Captain Hawk" material being produced by Columbia Pictures. They use this kind of division model. Moreover, because it is directed by Spielberg , Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams, the production cost of "Captain Hawk" can be far more than 10 million US dollars. I don't think Sony can make much money from this project. Even Spear It is impossible for Sony to make money in projects involving people like Berg and Dustin Hoffman. Do you think other films that Sony has invested in will generate profit?"

Akio Furui hesitated for a moment and asked, "Simon, in fact, we don't necessarily have to let Vasalman and the others take charge of the world. Moreover, we will strengthen the supervision of this company."

Simon shook his head and said: "Hollywood is actually a very closed circle. I know that you may still be considering Michael Ovitz to run this company. Ovitz is indeed a very good agent, but you may not It’s not too clear what he has been doing over the years. What Ovitz has been doing for the past ten years is to find ways to help CAA customers get higher salaries. Even if he is in charge of MCA, this kind of thinking will not change easily, he still It will attract talents through very generous sharing contracts, which may bring you a superficial prosperity. As for the benefits, of course, you should leave it to your own people in Hollywood as much as possible. You are outsiders after all."

Akio Furui still didn't believe it, and said, "Simon, these are just your own words."

Simon smiled and continued: "In fact, there is one last plan. Panasonic personally sends someone to take charge of the company. In fact, this is correct. Because what Hollywood studios need is a one-word paternalistic management. It doesn’t require any professional managers. However, for Panasonic, this idea is even worse, because you don’t understand the entertainment industry at all, and if you take charge of this company yourself, you will become more thoroughly outsiders. Hollywood derives profits from you even more without any consideration. Even a 500-pound sumo wrestler, who enters Hollywood and makes a round, will probably be skinny when he comes out."

The originally concentrated girl C could not help laughing when she heard Simon's last metaphor. Realizing her gaffe, the girl quickly said sorry, lowered her eyes and awkwardly picked up the chopsticks and pretended to be busy.

Akio Furui did not smile, his expression gradually became solemn, and he stared at Simon and said: "I suddenly realized one thing, Simon, you are also what you call a'Hollywood'. What you said was basically just to make Panasonic Just withdraw from the MCA acquisition."

"I don't deny this. This is the purpose of my coming to Japan." Simon nodded and said, "However, Furui, I am a very honest person. You just said it. And, what I said, you can Find someone to investigate. Hollywood has many similar cases. For example, in Colombia, although Sony and Panasonic are competitors, you can investigate. The two persons in charge hired by Sony have done nothing over the past year. Empty this company."

Akio Furui hesitated for a moment, and Zheng focused his head, "I will."

"Let's talk about our cooperation," Simon turned: "Panasonic acquired MCA, largely to follow up with Sony and prevent the other party from taking advantage of content to invade Panasonic's market share in the field of movie and music hardware. What you want Daenerys Entertainment can give it, and it has a better effect than Panasonic’s acquisition of MCA. For example, in terms of movies, in the past few years, Daenerys Entertainment has accounted for a large part of the top ten movies in the North American box office. This is ours Content advantage. Now, Daenerys Entertainment also owns the largest video tape chain company in North America. Both content and channels, Daenerys Entertainment has unparalleled advantages in Hollywood. As long as we cooperate with each other, even if the Sony video recorder is completely integrated It’s not impossible to squeeze out of the market. You should have seen the information I sent in advance. This is just one of the contents of our cooperation."