Hollywood Hunter

Among the three candidate companies, Vacheron Constantin, which focuses on the production of top-notch watches, has the longest history and has been founded for more than 200 years.

In 1987, Jacques Cutler, the head of Vacheron Constantin's holding family at the time, died. His children chose to sell the brand and were bought by the former Saudi Oil Minister Ahmed Yamani who had just immigrated to Switzerland.

As a rare high-level non-royal government in Saudi Arabia, Ahmed Yamani has achieved the position of Saudi Arabia’s core oil minister with his outstanding personal ability, and he single-handedly planned the Middle East oil crisis in the 1970s to fight for OPEC. A lot of benefits.

It's a pity that personal ability can't match the court struggle after all.

In the mid-1980s, the Saudi Crown Prince, the largest patron of Yamani, was assassinated. The oil minister was dismissed by the new Saudi King the following year and moved to Switzerland to avoid further purging.

At that time, Vacheron Constantin happened to be looking for a buyer, and Yamani took the opportunity.

According to media reports that the former Saudi oil minister loves watch collections, he bought Vacheron Constantin. However, in Simon's view, this incident is more like remembering that many rich people in emerging countries went to the West to buy basketball or football teams, typically protecting themselves by name.

Vacheron Constantin, like Rolex and Patek Philippe, is the top watch brand in Switzerland. Buying such a company can greatly enhance the holder's international reputation.

In many cases, fame is indeed an invisible amulet.

From the mid-1980s to the present, the political situation in Saudi Arabia has been stable for so many years. No one cares about a long-lost former oil minister. Yamani began to seek to sell the watch brand that took up a lot of his assets.

Unlike ordinary watch companies that produce mass production, Vacheron Constantin's annual output has just exceeded 11,000 yuan so far. However, because the average price is more than 10,000 U.S. dollars, there are many luxury-grade limited editions every year. In 1993, the turnover was equivalent to 143 million U.S. dollars and the net profit was 21 million U.S. dollars.

During the initial contact, Yamani gave a quotation of 300 million US dollars.

The top watch brands are not like apparel, luggage and luxury goods companies that can expand rapidly by increasing production and strengthening marketing. Therefore, although profitability is stable, growth is weak. Calculated on the basis of the profit scale in 1993, the price-earnings ratio of 14 times is still high at a price of 300 million US dollars.

According to the assessment in the information just now, the real acquisition should be able to win the company at a price of no more than 250 million US dollars.

Sophia delivered a glass of juice to Simon, still not willing to get off his lap. He heard the man say, "They are all good and have problems," and said, "That's why you want to make your own decision."

Simon took a sip of cold fresh apple juice, and he wrapped his other hand around the waist of the woman in his arms, and said: "Three companies, should you most want to get Bulgari?"

Sophia nodded, moved her body slightly to make it easier for a man to hug herself, and said: "I have investigated many comprehensive jewelry watch brands, such as Cartier, Bulgari, Piaget, etc., as well as our own Van Cleef & Arpels. These companies have a unified characteristic. The sales volume of jewellery is the bulk. The sales are basically more than 70% of the brand's total revenue, and watches often only account for about 20%."

Simon smiled and said, "So, it's best to make money for women."

Sophia gave him a light glance, and then said: "Unlike Gucci and CK and other luggage and apparel companies, top jewelry and watch companies want to maintain brand value, they cannot expand too much, and the turnover of a single brand is maintained within 1 billion US dollars. Best. Therefore, if we want to expand this part of the business, we can only expand in disguise by acquiring multiple brands."

Simon directly pointed out the problem facing Sophia: "The Bulgari family is not willing to sell too many shares, how do you plan to solve it?"

Sophia said: "I have considered that if we are willing to give up part of Melisandre's shares, the Bulgari family should be moved."

Melisandre’s previous acquisitions used cash. Therefore, apart from Simon and Sofia, the company has no other shareholders.

Over the years, through several consecutive incentive equity transfers, Simon has given Sofia up to 20% of Melisandre's shares.

Because of the lack of a listing, the outside world's valuation of Melisandre has been very different, generally ranging from 5 billion to 10 billion US dollars. Even at the lowest valuation of 5 billion US dollars, Sophia is now a top wealthy woman with a net worth of 1 billion US dollars.

However, Sophia’s performance in this matter is very low-key. Melisandre’s shareholding structure has also been kept secret. Many media even still believe that Melisandre is wholly owned by Simon, so women have never appeared in any On the wealth list.

Using the shares of Melisandre, one of the four women in the Westeros system, for stock exchange purchases, the Bulgari family should understand the gold content as long as they are not stupid.

Simon has no objection to Sophia's proposal, just saying: "You have to think about it, Sophie, this time you use Melisandre's shares and acquire other brands in the future. The other party is likely to make the same request."

Sophia said: "I know, but we will certainly have no problem maintaining a controlling stake for a long time in the future. For example, this time, I think it is enough to transfer 3% of the shares to the Bulgari family, and the rest will still be used. cash payment."

Simon asked again: "What about the valuation?"

Want to exchange shares, Melisandre's valuation is also a very troublesome issue.

The huge difference in the valuation of Melisandre from the outside world is not unreasonable, because this company is really not easy to value. In the past few years, because of different shareholdings and different types of subsidiaries, Melisandre’s financial reports were calculated separately for each subsidiary.

Take 1993 as an example.

Gucci is still the core of Meili Shanzhuo, with a shareholding ratio of 75%. In 1993, revenue was 1.89 billion US dollars, a growth rate of 32%, and a net profit of 310 million US dollars.

Subsequently.

Van Cleef & Arpels: holds 60% of its shares, 1993 revenue was 350 million U.S. dollars, a growth rate of 35%, and a net profit of 59 million U.S. dollars

CK: Holding 55% shares, 1993 revenue was 170 million US dollars, a growth rate of 33%, and a net loss of 8 million US dollars

Chateau Latour: 100% of the shares, 1993 annual revenue of 36 million US dollars, a growth rate of 7%, net profit of 6 million US dollars.

Christie’s Auction House: holds 31% of the shares. In 1993, the auction turnover was US$2.36 billion, a growth rate of 41%, and a net profit of US$73 million.

According to calculations based on the shareholding ratio and profit figures, in 1993, the profit of all brands belonging to Melisandre attributable to the parent company was approximately US$290 million.

However, for the development of these companies, Sophia did not implement full dividends, but only recovered about half of the profits.

Not to mention.

Calculated on the basis of the net profit of US$290 million attributable to the parent company, and because the other brands of Melisandre have maintained a high growth rate of more than 30%, except for Simon’s Latour winery as a collection. Therefore, if an IPO is conducted Operation, it is easy to obtain an IPO valuation of 20 times the price-to-earnings ratio, which is close to the market value of 6 billion US dollars.

If it is really listed, the P/E ratio will not be a big problem after listing, and it will be at the level of tens of billions of dollars in market value.

Therefore, now that both parties are not listed, if they want to adopt a share swap acquisition model, valuation issues will inevitably lead to a see-saw between the two parties.

The best solution is of course to go public.

Sophia might be able to guess Simon's thoughts. Although she was low-key these years, she did not object to Melisandre's listing at the right time, saying: "If it is an IPO, this year will definitely be too late."

Simon thought for a while and said: "Let's talk about it, try not to suffer too much. Moreover, you can let the Bulgari family go public in advance, which should also win us a lot of initiative."

Sophia nodded.

The market value miracle created by Daenerys Entertainment's IPO is widely known even in Italy.

Melisandre is also a ‘woman’ under Westeros, and probably no one will doubt her prospects for listing. The Bulgari family should also be aware that if Melisandre is acquired under privatization, once Melisandre is IPO, the value of the holdings in the other party's hands is likely to double within a year or two.

This rate of return is definitely very attractive.

After talking about Sofia’s most inclined Bulgari, Simon asked again: "What's the matter with Versace?"

Sophia said: "I met Gianni Versace in Cannes at the Cannes Film Festival in May. After a few conversations, the other party invited me to a party under the Versace brand, and then I had several contacts. In the middle of last month, Versace took the initiative. Test if I am interested in taking a stake in his company."

Simon smiled and asked, "What do you think?"

Sophia took the bottomless cup in Simon’s hand, drank the last juice with a straw, put the glass aside, and said: “Versace obviously wants to use our influence to get rid of the Mafia, so this It's not what I think, but what you think. You are a man, of course you have to decide this kind of thing."

Why was the former Gianni Versace shot?

Because Versace wants an IPO.

After a company's IPO, it must publicly disclose its operations and financial status. If some people do not want to be caught, it is impossible to use Versace to launder money.

In the final analysis, Gianni Versace just wants to get rid of the Italian Mafia.

It's a pity that it didn't happen in the end.

Simon has no fear of the Mafia.

The Italian Mafia boasts a group of desperadoes, and Simon, who dared to start a war in Africa, is not a higher-level desperado.

What's more, the Mafia should have not forgotten Mussolini's iron and blood methods.

Because of the deteriorating public order in the past few years, the public resentment has been boiling. The Italian government has continued to increase its crackdown on crimes in recent years. With the continuous deployment of the Westeros system in Italy’s political and business sectors over the years, if the Mafia dares to provoke himself, Simon will not Mind inciting the Italian government to launch a larger-scale anti-criminal operation.

Sophia, who was waiting for Simon to make a decision, suddenly felt a certain depth of coldness from the man before him, and quickly realized that he had made a mistake.

Very serious error.

The little man who is strong enough to make many people desperate is certainly not afraid of underground forces like bugs, which is why she put the Versace company information in front of him.

However, it was not what she wanted because such a small matter released the devil in his heart.

Sophia would rather her little man bully herself to death on the bed than he would be wrapped in negative emotions that should never appear on him. He should always be decent.

Thinking of this, Sophia leaned over to Simon, kissed him gently, and said: "I have decided. The next target is Bulgari."

Simon put his hands around the woman's waist, and stared at her for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Are you worried that one day I will suddenly return to mental illness..."

Before finishing speaking, Sophia kissed again.

After a while, the two of them split their lips. Sophia rubbed the man's stubble cheeks, and his tone became firmer: "It's Bulgari."

Simon nodded slightly: "Okay, listen to you. But it's not bad to buy Vacheron Constantin by the way."

The merger wars of several major luxury goods giants in the world began in the late 1990s when the European economy recovered again. Now, since there is no shortage of funds and sufficient strength, of course, the sooner you deploy and win more luxury brands, the better.

Sophia hummed softly.

Both of them stopped mentioning Versace.

However, Simon occasionally flashed the idea that since it cannot be acquired, such a company is definitely the best to completely destroy it. The same Italian brand, Versace's style has many similarities with Gucci and belongs to the most direct competitor. Since Gianni Versace has moved some thoughts and cannot rely on the Westeros system, he may be able to push the other party to conduct Versace's IPO in advance.

Quietly making up his mind, Simon continued to discuss some details of the acquisition of Bulgari and Vacheron Constantin with Sofia on the surface, and the two left Martha's Vineyard together at about ten in the morning.

Returning to Greenwich from the island, the time was approaching noon, and after having lunch at Sophia's house, Simon hurried to the airport and left for the west coast.

Front cabin of Boeing 767.

After the plane lifted off smoothly, Lady A sent a thick stack of documents that Simon had to read to the front cabin study. After getting on the plane, Neil Bennett also gave Simon a password suitcase, which was Weis. The Tello family intelligence team's regular operation reports and intelligence summary.

Simon was not in a hurry to open the lockbox, but first looked at the box office data of North American theaters in the past week.

Today is July 16th, Saturday.

Last box office week from July 8th to July 14th, two new films in North American theaters, "True Lies" relied on James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger who created the "Terminator" series This pair of main creative partners successfully withstood the phenomenon-level "Forrest Gump" crushing, and the first week's seven days' revenue reached 40.83 million US dollars.

This is actually the reason why the subject audiences of "True Lies" and "Forrest Gump" are very different.

"True Lies" is a blockbuster action movie with full popcorn attributes. In addition, the audience's desire to watch movies consumed by "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" released in early June has revived after a month, during which there were no other hits of the same type. Appears, so it can be successful.

However, "True Lies" still only ranked second in the box office in the first week.

The second week of the release of "Forrest Gump", after the number of screens increased from 2,137 yuan in the first week to 2,836 yuan, the box office dropped only 11% the next week, and it received 47.53 million US dollars, easily winning the single-week box office champion. .

Within two weeks of its opening, "Forrest Gump" directly rushed into the billion-dollar box office club, with a cumulative box office of US$10.98 million.

Because the two blockbusters were too strong, another new film last week, the love movie "I Love Trouble" starring Julia Roberts, had a box office of only 12.28 million US dollars in the first week, ranking third.

Daenerys Entertainment originally signed a five-part contract with Julia Roberts. However, as many things changed, the actress followed the series of hit movies such as "Pretty Woman" and "Gannet Assassination". Still popular, Simon doesn't take him too seriously.

Coupled with no suitable project in his hands, Simon generously let Roberts go to work with other film companies.

Warner Bros. invested in this "I Love Trouble". Because of Roberts' participation, the production cost is as high as 45 million US dollars. The box office of 12.28 million US dollars in the first week is less than half of Warner Bros’s expected results. The total North American box office is expected to be 30 million US dollars. , It also means that Warner will continue to lose money on this project.

"The Gambler Mahuali", which was played in the summer break, has already lost ground. Now, another costly romance film has lost its way. Warner has to rely on the profits created by "Batman: The Dark Knight Rise" to continue to make up for the shortfall.

According to Lady A’s note after the box office statement, after the box office data of the week before yesterday was released, Time Warner’s stock price plummeted by 2.9% on the last trading day of the week. The market value fell from $16.1 billion to $15.6 billion in one day. The daily market value has evaporated by $500 million.

Affected by the box office sales of "True Lies", the fourth week of its release, "Call of Souls" dropped 31% this week, and received another $12.15 million, lagging behind "I Love Trouble" at a slight disadvantage.

However, the cumulative box office of the beginning of the film universe has reached 96.31 million US dollars, which is about to break 100 million.

Jack Nicholson’s new film "Wolf Life and Death", which was released on July 1st during the holiday box office week of Independence Day, dropped 54% in the box office the following week to only $11.45 million, ranking fifth on this week’s list. The film lasted two weeks. The cumulative box office totaled 36.36 million U.S. dollars, and the total box office in North America is expected to be around 50 million U.S. dollars.

Considering that the production cost of the film is as high as 50 million US dollars, Jack Nicholson has no hope of turning over.

In addition to the top five, the sixth-placed "Phantom Hero", the box office fell 49% the following week, the box office shrank to less than 10 million US dollars in a single week, the box office only received 7.51 million US dollars, and the cumulative box office was only 22.18 million US dollars.

Other major Hollywood studios such as "Zero Blast", "Urban Hillbilly 2", "Beverly Detective 3" and other Hollywood studios originally placed high hopes, with the release of "True Lies" and "Forrest Gump" "The phenomenon-level outbreak" completely withdrew from the summer competition.