Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1455: Douqi Bidding

"Here is the document. Let your lawyer take a look. If there is no problem, you can sign it..."

"OK, I will use part of the dividends to donate to veterans and their families. You won't object, right?"

"No objection. I only have one request. Aunt Karen must be allowed to lead this charity. Otherwise, she will definitely be dissatisfied and will have to call me to complain. Hahaha."

"No problem, she loves doing this..."

Ronald flew back to New York from Los Angeles. In addition to meeting with investment bank Goldman Sachs, accounting firms, and law firms to discuss the listing, he also signed trust documents with the other two women.

Donna is the beneficiary of another trust in which he puts shares. She, her mother Karen, and her children are eligible to benefit from this trust. Of course, the voting rights of this stock still belong to Ronald through a complex arrangement.

"Does this DDH have any other meaning?" Donna signed her name after the lawyer read the contract. She finally pointed to the DDH logo on the document header and asked Ronald thoughtfully.

"Well, my company's three major assets are Daydream, New York Daily News Group, and Hollywood Cinemas. These three companies are not well-known nationwide, unlike Paramount, which has a brand that covers all its businesses. So, it's better to keep it simple.

Ronald smiled. The three groups took their initials and put them together to form the name of a group company. Anyway, this is a media company and does not need to rely on brands to sell products. There is actually a precedent for naming like this. The famous MGM was formed by the merger of three studios: Metro, Goldwyn and Mayer.

"Is there any possibility that it's the initials of three other names?" Donna looked into Ronald's eyes with a smile, looking a bit like the smart girl who was admitted to MIT.

"Anything is possible. I'm really happy, Donna. Now you and Doug are very happy..."

"Playboy, huh..." Donna guessed something, but she came over and hugged Ronald. This cousin didn't say anything else, but he took good care of the people around him. "I'll help you with this charity."

"You and Doug's future children will also be beneficiaries of this trust, Donna. It's not just for me..."

……

"I'm not with you for your money..."

Unexpectedly, when Ronald came to Helen and asked her to sign a trust shareholding agreement, he was met with Helen's protest.

"Of course, I will never look at you like this, it's for the sake of the child..."

"Just for the children?"

"You can look at it this way, this is a testimony of our love..."

"I love you, Ronnie..."

Sure enough, Helen's personality was such that she still liked romantic words. As soon as she heard the words "witness of love", she immediately lay softly in Ronald's arms, feeling the thrill that this endless love brought to her.

"Where is the pen? Let me look for it..." After a long time, Helen, after satisfyingly recalling the great romantic impact that today had brought her, stood up and looked for a pen to sign.

"Aren't you going to show it to the lawyer?" Ronald asked while lying on the bed and drinking the water handed to him by Helen.

"My dear, this is totally unnecessary..." After saying that, Helen signed each of the places where the notes were posted.

"Is this it?" Finally, Helen pointed to the last H in DDH on the letter paper of the agreement, and then looked at Ronald with an inquiring look.

"Yes..." The two looked at each other again and then kissed each other.

“Here’s what I think. When we are all old, we can let these children unite. Only when they have learned enough knowledge, they can propose proposals based on their own ideas. Only after all of them agree can their trust be used.

The entertainment industry is not that easy to work in. You need to put in too much effort and the price is too high. In the future, Linda and... well, whatever she wants to do, it's up to her to decide."

“And?” Helen didn’t react for a moment, then she remembered what Ronald said about uniting the children, and immediately leaned her face on Ronald’s shoulder and whispered softly in his ear, “I want to have another child for you… um…”

……

"Ronald, what do you think?"

"Ah, how do I see it?"

The next day, when Ronald was discussing the details of DDH's listing with the team led by Michael Goldman, who was responsible for Goldman Sachs' high-profile IPO business, he was still immersed in the madness of last night with Helen and looked a little dazed.

"Mr. Goldman suggested that they could increase their holdings of Blockbuster shares. If they could get enough shares to sit on the board of directors before the SEC officially approved the listing license, they could increase the valuation by 7.3% according to their calculations."

Ed Bastian and Lindsay Doll, who were accompanying Ronald in the meeting, pointed to a project in the document on both sides and explained it to Ronald from a financial and legal perspective.

Unlike CEO Bastian who received options, Lindsay Doll did not receive any stock in Ronald's company, but she received compensation for working for Ronald for many years in another way.

Her law firm will become the permanent lawyer of DDH after it goes public. She herself will serve Ronald's family trust, and the annual service fee will not be less than the options obtained by the company's executives.

In the future, she herself will be closely integrated with Ronald's family and become one of the few friends that Ronald can trust in the long term.

"Well, I have a question. Why would a video rental and sales chain store be so valuable?"

"Mr. Li, you are worthy of being the director who can make the most accurate Hollywood movie about Wall Street, such as Other People's Money. Your question is also the most critical..."

This banker named Michael Goldman is a typical Goldman Sachs person. He is confident to the point of arrogance, and he needs to weigh his attitude towards clients first. If the client is an evenly matched opponent, then he will serve him wholeheartedly. If the client is a white sheep who knows nothing, then...

"Just like the New England Cable Company in other people's money, Blockbuster seems powerful, but they themselves don't understand the company's potential. Such a company has sufficient cash flow like an insurance company, and is also an important distribution channel for the hottest film and television industry. They should make better use of the potential of such a company instead of just treating it as a videotape seller..."

After saying this, Michael Goldman stared at Ronald with his sparkling eyes.

"You're basically saying that Blockbuster is the New England Cable of the film industry. The quality of its assets will attract those alligators on Wall Street who are eyeing the company covetously. If they can't fully utilize the company's potential, sooner or later they'll attract someone like Larry to help them realize that potential?" Ronald used a metaphor to explain it, and Ed Bastian next to him smiled slightly.

The greatest ability of his boss is that he can quickly grasp the key to things. This statement can scare Michael Goldman and make him realize what kind of person he is dealing with.

This is not one of those Jewish executives in the studio, nor is he a rich second-generation like Redstone. This is a man like Barry Diller, who started from scratch in Hollywood and created a billion-dollar fortune.

"What did I tell you? What did I tell you? If someone like Mr. Li comes to Wall Street, we will all face a strong competitor..." As expected, Michael Goldman got his response and immediately adopted a corresponding attitude, saying a few good words first.

"You can just call me Ronald. Blockbuster's cash flow is so mismatched with their valuation. If I don't take action, will someone else do it?" Ronald flipped to their analysis file on Blockbuster, looked at it for a while, and asked.

"That's right, Ronald. Talking to you often reminds me of my boss, Mr. Paulson, the co-chairman of Goldman Sachs' investment banking business. He also gets to the point with every word he says."

"I've heard of him... I hope to have a chance to talk to him." Ronald replied with a smile. When Bannon heard that Ronald was going to go public, he also came to seek to be an underwriter. But when Ronald said he wanted to cooperate with Goldman Sachs, he cursed Paulson and retreated to the next best thing, asking to cooperate with Ronald on film and television production.

"Of course, once our SEC approves it, we will definitely visit together. Please understand that Mr. Paulson attaches great importance to DDH's listing, but as the best investment bank and financial consulting company on Wall Street, he also spends 100 days a year on the plane..."

"OK, come up with a plan. Before the SEC approves it, I will buy a small amount of Blockbuster stock, but not more than the limit during the silent period while waiting for the S-1..."

Ronald had no objection. He believed that the acquisitions during this period could not exceed the so-called "major" limit. It would be better to wait until after the listing to make large-scale acquisitions as DDH's first major move.

……

"Oh, what are Barry Diller and Redstone doing? Does this offer mean they don't want to make a profit? They don't want to make money just to show off?"

After dealing with the listing, Ronald returned to Los Angeles. As Christmas approached, he saw another shocking news in the newspaper.

The two tycoons bidding for Paramount Communications, Redstone of Viacom and Barry Diller of QVC, made their third offer, which was close to 10 billion. At this price, it was obvious that there was no money to be made by acquiring Paramount through the method of exchanging shares and cash.

The only reasonable explanation for the two companies to offer this much is that they are fighting each other because of their past grudges. It doesn't look like Paramount is worth that much money.

Even without considering Paramount Media's current market value and adding the huge growth of the film and television media industry in the next decade, the valuation is unlikely to cover the two's crazy bids.

"Shirley Lansing is very happy now," Richard said. Lansing had just joined Paramount and her options had not been fully cashed out, but this purchase price, compared to the fixed option price at the time, made her a huge profit.

"I'm afraid her boss, Mr. Davis, earns more..."

Ronald could imagine that these executives could make a fortune with the shares they held at this acquisition price. The one who made more money than Shirley Lansing was Martin Davis, the chairman of Paramount Media.

He has served as the chairman and CEO of Paramount since 1983. During this period, he had options and many opportunities to purchase stocks. If the final transaction price is around 10 billion offered by the two bidders, the new stocks that Martin Davis received are estimated to be worth more than 10 billion US dollars.

It's really rare to have your assets doubled in value after being acquired out of nowhere.

“Who do you think will take over Paramount?”

After dinner, Ronald called Ed Bastian, who was busy with the IPO.

"Hmph, Barry Diller is still more confident. His QVC is a TV shopping company with much more abundant cash flow than Redstone's Viacom. Even if they seek loans and financing from banks, QVC's financial situation will allow banks to give lower interest rates and higher credit lines with more confidence. However, this is usually a syndicated loan."

"It's really crazy. If it were me, I wouldn't dare put my own business at risk to acquire a company of similar or even larger size." Ronald still expressed his admiration for the courage of these two people.

"They are different from you. Their shareholding in the company is much lower than yours. To a large extent, they are not risking their own property, but using the company's assets and leveraging the bank's money to take risks. With such an acquisition price, I estimate that after the holiday, the stock prices of QVC and Viacom will plummet..."

"Is that so? Is there an opportunity to short sell? These two people are too willful..."

Ronald muttered something, then called Bannon, "Steve, do you want to play the game we played in Japan again?"

"Hehe, at your service at any time, Ronald." Bannon laughed happily. When the world needs something, you have to ask powerful people like Ronald. Although you may not get the apple you want most, maybe someone smaller will remember you?
"I only have one request, don't let my name appear in any media or rumors."

"No problem. We use Japanese entities and several anonymous overseas companies as cover. I do this all the time."

Sure enough, after Christmas and New Year, Viacom and QVC both showed a downward trend in the stock market. The capital market was not optimistic about this acquisition at all. Financial media such as the Wall Street Journal and Investor Daily even used the title "The War of Two Old Naughty Boys" to describe the Paramount acquisition battle.

As for Ronald, Bannon is not good at serious investment and film and television production, so he is very good at speculative opportunities based on his familiarity with the industry. Many preparations have been made, and they are just waiting for the two old naughty boys to escalate their fighting spirit again.

……

"Ronald, the expanded run of Philadelphia is number one at the box office in its first weekend..."

Richard also insisted on coming to Ronald's place during the holidays. He brought the box office statistics and told Ronald the good news.

"Huh? This is a pleasant surprise... Why is Schindler's List not working?"

Ronald's finger slid down several items before he saw the box office performance of Schindler's List at the seventh position. He checked the number of theaters showing the film and found that there were only more than 300 theaters.

"Ah? They really can't make enough copies?"

It seems that Universal's black-and-white printing work is still very inefficient. The technicians at that time are now old and can only guarantee the production of dozens of copies per week.

The Philadelphia Story did not have this problem. It was released in more than 1,200 theaters and took in over 13 million dollars over the weekend, taking the number one spot at the box office.