Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1458 Paramount's New Acquisition Bid
"Viacom's acquisition of Blockbuster was announced, and trading in both companies' stocks was suspended. Wall Street consultants found that they could not accurately calculate the market value of either company..."

"Some executives familiar with both Huizenga and Redstone, both of whom are strong personalities, said they were surprised he would do so and suggested it might not be easy for Huizenga and Redstone to work side by side..."

"The two get along well, and Blockbuster Vice Chairman Steven Berard shrugged off any potential friction. He said Huizenga and Redstone's chemistry made it happen."

"Viacom Vice President Biondi said that from Wednesday to today, the negotiations could be described as a hit, and most of the time was spent on mechanical and procedural issues about what type of Viacom stock Blockbuster shareholders would receive."

The news of the acquisition was officially published in the newspapers, and most financial journalists expressed doubts about whether Redstone would continue to acquire Paramount. Financial journalists from the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times all pointed out the same question: since the deal of Viacom's acquisition of Blockbuster was finalized, before all the processes of the transaction were actually completed, was Viacom-Blockbuster still the same Viacom?

Will Viacom's new offer for Paramount be subject to the ten-day limit? If Viacom's old company is strictly restricted, there will be legal questions about whether Blockbuster's 1.2 billion can be used in the new offer.
If there are no strict restrictions on the original Viacom as a merger and acquisition entity, will the new Viacom-Blockbuster join the competition as a new acquirer? How will the bids from the old companies be handled?

These legal issues are not easy to resolve. Even if Redstone wins the competition, he may still face a lawsuit from Barry Diller.

Another more serious problem is that Redstone's previous offer included a board seat for Martin S. Davis, the current chairman of Paramount Media, in the new company and an important position in the merged company.

And now? Blockbuster took the seat originally given to him. Three board seats, and Huizenga's transcendental status guaranteed. So what would Martin Davis think? Originally, he preferred Viacom because of his position in the new company, and he didn't want to retire yet.

Among many media, only John Lipman, a reporter from the entertainment section of the Los Angeles Times, shared Ronald's view that Redstone had great malice towards Paramount, and for him, defeating Barry Diller might be more important than the acquisition itself.

Ronald sat alone in the study, and he told Diane that he needed to have a conference call with Goldman Sachs to discuss the listing. Diane thought the matter was serious, so she took little Roger to play with her best friend Laura Dunn.

"How are the preparations going?" People on several phone lines arrived, and Ronald spoke to Bannon first.

"We have sold some short orders with small amounts of money, and no one on the other side noticed. I believe their attention is all on the acquisition." Bannon returned to New York. His team was staying in an office rented short-term in the World Trade Center. All staff were not allowed to go out. They slept and showered in the administrative office these days. Anyway, there were beds and bathing facilities prepared for senior executives in the office.

As for food, they were all taken care of by Domino's Pizza and Pagoda Fast Food in Chinatown. They were delivered to the office next door and then moved over by their own people. Ronald also sent a group of people, led by bodyguard Daniel, to Bannon to keep a close eye on them and prevent the news from leaking out.

When it was over, they quietly withdrew and restored the office to its original state. No one knew that a stock market battle worth hundreds of millions of dollars had taken place here.

"Ronald, have you confirmed Lei Shidong's determination?" After Bannon made the arrangements, he went to an office and confirmed with Ronald using a confidential line.

"Redstone came to me. This guy has crazy eyes, I'm sure of that. If you were there, you would have seen that he was so desperate that he offered me three times to buy Blockbuster stock."

"Ha, this dandy boy! He can actually be so servile!"

Bannon didn't do well on Wall Street, but he felt like a fish in water in Hollywood. His essence is that he is good at observing people's words and expressions, but not good at rational analysis. If you talk about the acquisition case, how much Redstone paid and how much he would not give up the bid for Paramount, he may not be sure. When you say that Redstone, in order to reduce a little cost, actually lowered his seniority and "begged" Ronald many times, he is 100% certain in his heart.

"Mr. Li..."

The traders on the other confidential line were the experts in Goldman Sachs Global Markets recommended by Paulson. They had a more advanced trading system, and with the same amount of money, they only needed fewer people to handle it. Moreover, they were not conspicuous at all in the multinational securities derivatives investment with huge daily transactions.

"Hank (Paulson) told you that all my resources are at your disposal. You don't need to ask for my permission. As long as you can make the most of this acquisition opportunity and take a big bite. I don't want to be laughed at by Redstone next time I meet him."

"You got what you wanted..."

After spending several hours in the "war room", Ronald came out to calm down at the end of the day. The dice had been rolled, and the final result depended on whether his judgment was accurate.

He let out a long breath, his breathing was a little unstable, his heart rate was very fast, his face was red, and his blood pressure was probably much higher than usual.

People should not overestimate themselves. Although Ronald felt that he was 100% sure of Redstone's actions, when the time came, the hundreds of millions of dollars invested separately still made people feel like a middle school student going on a date with his girlfriend for the first time.

"Hello, Donna, are you free?" Ronald called Donna for some reason.

"Ronnie? What's the matter?" Donna asked in surprise. Her cousin usually wouldn't call her to chat.

"I have a question for you. When you and your boss, Mr. Simons, make investment decisions, do you get nervous? Do you doubt your own judgment? Do you have trouble sleeping at night?"

"Of course, human emotions are always an inseparable factor in investment. Whenever Mr. Simons sees the pattern he is looking for in the stock market data, he gets very excited. He even says he can't sleep at night."

"So even he can't sleep?" Ronald let out a long breath. The return rate of Simons' Renaissance Medallion Fund in recent years has been much higher than that of Buffett's Berkshire.

How could this person who manages a large fund with the highest return rate in the country also have trouble sleeping? It seems that the distance between investment and speculation is not as far apart as they said in their speeches?
Ronald pressed his chest. The long period of hyperventilation made his chest hurt a little.

"Do you want to talk to Christy? She keeps calling me to thank you for your help with her new Maybelline endorsement."

Richard has been Ronald's agent for many years, and he is one of the people who knows Ronald best. Ronald, with a flushed face and shortness of breath, looks like those male stars who have just had a high, with bloodshot eyes.

Ronald has been working on the company's IPO these past two days. Did he encounter any difficulties? Although this IPO does not benefit Richard himself due to the restrictions of the agent contract, his client has become the boss of the media group, which is a good thing for his career. In the future, the opportunities for him and his allies' artists will not be of the same magnitude as a director like you.

So Richard had to hold on to Ronald no matter what. After a long time of contact, he knew that Ronald was nostalgic and liked to cooperate with old friends, so there was no need to kick out old friends and replace them with new friends of a higher level after upgrading his social class.

"Ha, she was named one of the top five models, and now she's walking in all the high-end couture shows steadily. She doesn't need my help... It's just her own strength." Ronald didn't expect Richard to have not given up his... career, and was still providing Ronald with a female companion to "relieve" his nervousness. Is he a pervert like Redstone?

"She is indeed, but now Kate Moss has a great impact on the older generation of models. Maybe flat chests will be the mainstream standard for catwalk models in the future. She came to you more because she needs advice from a wise man. Girls like this are easily lost in the trend, and her boyfriend just happens to be..." Richard kept talking. He wondered if Ronald didn't want to see Turlington anymore? Or should he find a new mainstream model?
"Um...where's my coffee?" Ronald hoped to drink something hot to make himself feel more comfortable.

Richard saw Ronald and suddenly said this when he heard him say that Turlington's boyfriend kicked her. He wondered if Ronald was dissatisfied with Turlington for not calling to express his dissatisfaction when she had a boyfriend before?

"She doesn't seem to have many friends in the circle now? I remember that Cindy and her were very close and lived in the same apartment."

"Ahem, Cindy and the others seem to have a film project now, it's a documentary. Cindy and Kate Moss, and those models you were familiar with back then, all appear in it."

Richard almost spilled the coffee he was bringing to Ronald when he heard this. Cindy Crawford and Richard Gere seem to have a good relationship and often attend events together. Could it be that you, Ronald, have fallen in love with this type? No wonder she didn't call when she was thinking about Turlington having a boyfriend.

"Can they really transform themselves into movie stars? If they are famous enough..." Ronald felt that this might be a way. Compared to an unknown actress, it might be easier for a famous supermodel whose face can be seen on magazine covers at newsstands on the street to become an actress?

Ronald returned to his familiar film field and immediately wrote a note and handed it to Richard, asking him to let Daydream try this approach if he thought it was good.

"By the way, I have prepared a gift for you. Wait a moment." Ronald suddenly remembered a few days ago that his listing had benefited many people, and Richard was one of the most loyal to him and one of the people who had followed him the longest. Although he had arrangements for him, others had them, and he did not have a big gift package, so he must have felt a little uncomfortable.

"My gift?" Richard smiled.

"Here!" Ronald threw him an envelope. Richard took it and touched it. There was something hard inside. After opening it, he found it was a car key.

"This is a Porsche 911. Your status in CAA is different now, and you need a car that shows your status. I want the latest model, and you're the only one among all the agents in Los Angeles." Ronald smiled and pointed to the envelope, which contained all the documents for the car.

"Thank you! Are you sure it's mine?" Richard thought to himself, "Didn't you give it to Niceta and Paula?" This was a bit uncomfortable, it would be better if no one had it.

"What they need now is not a sports car. I gave them a top-of-the-line luxury car to pick up their children from school. Hahaha." Ronald laughed. Richard doesn't have a stable girlfriend, so giving him a sports car is a serious gift. He will feel differently.

……

"I am a good person and I am innocent. In the past month, many bad things have made me feel uncomfortable. Today at this conference in memory of people of color, I want to tell everyone that I am innocent!"

At night, Ronald was still a little absent-minded. He watched on TV that Michael Jackson went to an award ceremony to honor people of color to receive an award. A few months ago, he had disdained the award, but MJ spoke for six minutes. In the end, the black people in the audience were not interested in applauding and could only perfunctorily do the job.

"What's wrong with MJ? He looks like he's about to faint." Diane said in surprise.

Michael Jackson became increasingly thinner, and his voice became weaker, and he was almost a different person from the one he was on tour.

The long hair no longer looks as handsome as it did during the tour, but rather a little listless. It is like a pair of wings, wrapping around the superstar and protecting him from any more harassment.

"Christ Jesus, it's really a bit out of shape."

Ronald picked up the phone and called Elizabeth Taylor, MJ's best friend regardless of age difference.

"You're watching, Ronnie. The recent body searches have taken a toll on him, both physically and mentally. There are only a few people he'll listen to now. Me? Of course I'm on the phone with him, but right now Elvis' daughter is taking photos of him."

"He needs this kind of comfort now, but rational analysis from friends is equally important." Ronald could tell that Ms. Taylor was a little dissatisfied with the erratic Elvis Presley's daughter. As soon as he hinted that MJ shouldn't have a new girlfriend and forget about his old friends, Taylor agreed.

"Young people shouldn't make decisions at such a vulnerable time. MJ even proposed to Lisa (Presley) on the phone. What a child... He is a child himself, how could he do such a thing?"

Taylor also told a piece of gossip that MJ was engaged. But the way he proposed was very childish, over the phone... and Elvis' daughter actually agreed. It really got what she wanted.

"He had no choice but to not have the chance to propose to you." Ronald and Taylor joked that MJ's seventh wedding was held in MJ's Dream Manor.

"Ronald, your phone..."

Diane received a call from another line and came over to call Ronald.

After Ronald put it down, he ran to the study to pick it up.

"I'm Ed (Bastien) and Barry Diller has a new offer and he's lowered the price!"

Finally, another round of bids for Paramount's acquisition began. Barry Diller was not sure what he was thinking, but he was sure that Redstone would stop after he had his fill of Blockbuster, and no one could compete with him for Paramount. He actually took the lead in making a new round of bids within the time limit, lowering the previous price conditions by a lot.

"I'm Bannon, Ronald. Will that bastard Redstone back off?"

Then, more calls came in. Today, the financial media's television reports were all about this acquisition with a total value of over 10 billion.

"Shxt!" Ronald insisted on continuing, but after hanging up the phone, his hands were still shaking with nervousness.

If Lei Shidong really did shake him, the Blockbuster stock he held would rise, but the hundreds of millions of funds he had invested in short selling would be a huge loss. With these two factors offsetting each other, his loss from Lei Shidong was magnified several times.