Reborn Tech Maniac

Chapter 536 Online Services and AOL

In fact, Marvin Davis, like Mark Rich, was on the verge of law because of price speculation in the oil business.

It's just that, like Mark Rich, he still took risks under political risks, so only in 1981, he was awarded some civil compensation by the US Department of Justice.That same year, it sold a majority stake in the oil company for $6 million.

Also in 1981, Malvin Davis and Mark Rich paid a total of more than $20 million for control of 7th Century Fox.

After Mark Rich was wanted by the US government and ran away and became the most wanted man by the FBI, his shares in 20th Century Fox were acquired by Marvin Davis with more than 1 million US dollars.

Now, Tang Huan is willing to buy this part of the equity at a price of 2 million U.S. dollars. Marvin Davis has more than doubled his income, which is undoubtedly very cost-effective.

But there is one thing, although this part of Mark Rich's shares in 20th Century Fox was won by Marvin Davis for more than 1 million US dollars, it does not mean that it is really only worth this price.

If this deal is concluded, both Tang Huan and Marvin Davis can be called a win-win situation, and the real loser is the runaway Mark Rich.

Marvin Davis pondered for a moment, unable to make a decision.Gein, 20th Century Fox, to him, is a bit tasteless, and the money is not as enjoyable as the oil business, but it is not completely unprofessional.In short, the water in Hollywood is not so deep, which makes him, an oil tycoon, somewhat in a dilemma.

Ever since the Holy Trinity of production, distribution, and screening of the Hollywood industry, the golden body of vertical monopoly, was broken by the anti-monopoly sword of the US Department of Justice, in order to survive, Hollywood companies have become vassals of large conglomerates one after another.

However, the ups and downs of the film industry's income are as elusive as not knowing which cloud will rain, and they are also disliked by some executives outside the industry. There are criticisms.

Obviously, it is not enough for Hollywood to cut peaks and flatten valleys in terms of business risk by selling itself to a large consortium. It must also take another road of monopoly, that is, the combination of entertainment and media.

Marvin Davis has already accepted this suggestion from his subordinates, otherwise he would not have gotten involved with Murdoch and planned to jointly acquire the cable TV network owned by Metropolis Media.

But as a result, Marvin Davis' financial pressure also increased greatly, and he wanted to borrow 6 million US dollars from the bank before, but he still couldn't get the full trust of the banker.

Of course, banks are not the only financing channels. Now that junk bonds are prevalent in the United States, Marvin Davis does not reject this method, but it is just a little riskier.

It's a pity that this plan has encountered strong challenges. Ted Turner has also taken a fancy to this goal, and with Tang Huan's support behind him, the prospect of competition is really not optimistic.

Seeing Marvin Davis hesitate, Tang Huan put down his glass and said slowly: "I have been in Hollywood for the past few years, and I have a feeling that I am most afraid of embarrassment. 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney It seems that they are all in this state. The proportion of profits contributed by movies keeps declining, and it depends on other investments such as real estate to make the financial statements passable. Especially the latter, where theme parks account for [-]% of revenue, and they are also facing the threat of hostile takeovers in the near future. .”

Staring into the eyes of Marvin Davis, Tang Huan made a gesture, "Open the skylight and tell the truth, the rest of my quotation plan is this, I am willing to use 7 million US dollars for your own share Take over."

"Well, 20th Century Fox's movie business may be really difficult for you to understand, but Pebble Beach Golf Course, Ski Company, Century City, and Forbes Plaza, which will start construction, are all attractive assets. "Marvin Davis laughed, with a cunning smile in his smile, "You also said that you like this golf course very much, and the Pebble Beach Golf Course has indeed appreciated in value over the past few years. Quite a few."
Tang Huancai nodded boldly, "Just tell me, how much do you want to increase the price?"

"Add another [-] million, and all my rights and interests in Forbes will be transferred to you. Of course, I will part ways with Murdoch immediately." Marvin Davis made his overall plan clear.

"My team has evaluated the assets and liabilities of 20th Century Forbes, and your fluctuation is unreasonable." Tang Huan shook his head affirmatively.

"How could it be?" Marvin Davis sat up straight at once, "I have been running 20th Century Fox in the past few years, and it is definitely a painstaking effort."

Tang Huan smiled. He didn't use words to stimulate the other party. He stood up and said, "Let's go to play. I hope that after returning, I can see enough relevant information to attract me."

"Okay." Marvin Davis quickly picked up the phone, "I'll get someone to prepare."

Now, the mentality of Marvin Davis is similar to that of John Kruger, the boss of Metropolis Media. , the desire to let go is increasing day by day and cannot be restrained.

……

The collapse of the North American home video game console market, like the autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, harvested countless companies, including game console manufacturers directly involved, and game software developers, etc., and even those who were ignored because of their marginal status. various service companies.

For example, there is such a venture-funded computer service company called Control Video-Control Video, whose business is to provide a network connection environment for the Atari 2600, so that players can store their best scores.

As Atari's performance plummeted, especially in early 1984, Warner decisively sold the home video game console and personal computer business to Jack Trammell, and Control Video suddenly lost its main business. On the verge of bankruptcy.

As one of them, Steve Case felt that he might have to change jobs again.After graduation, he worked for Procter & Gamble and PepsiCo respectively.Because of the eye-opening experience at COMDEX in Las Vegas, he was recommended by his elder brother who is engaged in securities investment, plunged into the IT circle, and joined Control Video as a marketing planner.

Steve Case, who was born in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1958, is quite business-minded and energetic. He is not willing to let the company go bankrupt like this. Without the Atari 2600, he will change his business.

To this end, Steve Case stayed up for several nights, trying to find inspiration by visiting the booming Internet service provider AOL.

AOL is also a venture capital project. The funds are mainly provided by Tang Huan, the richest man in the United States and a Silicon Valley tycoon, and developed from businesses such as Pacific BBS, Zheru mail service, and EA online game MUD.

With the support of Tang Huan, AOL has advantages that other similar risk projects cannot match. For example, in the network construction, it has the opportunity to sit at the negotiating table with the telecommunications company Pacific Telecom and bargain to reduce the cost of line access, technology and products. More supporting in place, very favorable.

Just like the Fangyuan portable personal computer that Steve Case is using, it costs $2699, the modem is $49.95, and the initial installation fee for opening the network is $15. As for the various network support programs that need to be used, they are all free.

Of course, although the hardware investment is very cost-effective, the network usage fee is really expensive, which needs to be $4.95 per hour.

In order to attract users, America Online has also launched a preferential tariff policy. Subscribers can enjoy a package of $30 per month, that is, a basic fee of $15 per month for 5 hours and another $4.45 per hour.In addition, users can also enjoy a discounted price of $12 between 7:3.95 p.m. and [-]:[-] a.m. every night.

This was also the reason why Steve Case had to stay up all night. America Online's offer was still very attractive, but only with Tang Huan's support could he survive such a waste of money.

In fact, AOL is not the only company that provides high-quality Internet services. CompuServe, which was founded in 1969, is also very competitive.

However, after comparison, Steve Case still prefers the platform of AOL, because of the technologically advanced virtual world, the content is more colorful, including news, weather, shopping, bulletin boards, games, voting, Expert columns, banking, stocks, travel and more.

And the feeling of being able to talk freely with people all over the world while sitting at home fascinated Steve Case, especially many hot topics that also aroused his strong interest.

……

The Los Angeles Olympics will be held in July this year, and the torch relay ceremony is scheduled for May.

The ingenious Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee decided amidst various criticisms that the price for the torch relay ceremony will be 3000 US dollars per kilometer, and a part of the road in the San Francisco Bay Area has been bought by Tang Huan. Party.

……

The 56th Academy Awards was held at the Dorothy Chandler Hall in Los Angeles on April 4th. The movie "A Mother and a Daughter" won awards including Best Picture, Best Director - James Brooks, Best Adapted screenplay, Best Actress - Shirley MacLaine, Best Supporting Actor - Jack Nicholson, including five awards, once again let Tang Huan's United Artists return with full rewards.

……

Oil tycoon Marvin Davis sold his 20th Century Fox shares for US$10 billion, and the buyer was Tang Huan.thus.Tang Huan's Hollywood company also has its own large studio, and the scale of the company is comparable to that of Paramount and Warner.

……

The owner of Metropolitan Media, John Kruger, sold his cable networks in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Dallas, and Washington to Turner Broadcasting for $29 billion, making it a veritable The fourth largest television network in the United States, as for News Corporation, it was sadly out.

As the winner, Ted Turner, he deliberately appeared at the press conference wearing a pair of boxing gloves, and his ridicule and satire to the competitor Murdoch was almost to the point of vividness.

……

The traditional media's hype about Tang Huan's entry age and personal integrity is also reflected in the virtual world, and all kinds of laughter and curses are more unscrupulous.

Among them was a post about guessing Tang Huan's actual age, which had built tens of thousands of buildings and remained on top.

Steve Case glanced at the analysis results, more than 80.00% of five people believed that Tang Huan was born in 1955, and he is 29 years old this year.

"A genius is a genius. He has a net worth of billions before he turns 30." Steve Case, who admired him very much, cast his vote.

……

After gulping down the espresso, Steve Case got up and walked to the window, and did a few chest expansion exercises, and the fatigue of staying up all night was swept away.

During this period of time, Steve Case spent thousands of dollars on Internet access alone.Although he felt heartache after indulgence, he also felt that he had gained a lot.

There is no doubt that AOL is the most advanced both technically and conceptually.In comparison, the near-defunct Control Video company is not worth mentioning.

Such a result was not beyond Steve Case's expectations, and he believed that America Online, which has a strong background, should have done such a good job as a matter of course, and it was not worthy of fuss and praise.

But there is one thing that Steve Case deeply felt, and that was the attitude of AOL in managing customers.

Many things that seem natural to computer professionals are very difficult for ordinary users to understand. America Online, which puts aside its high technology, has established a complete online customer service in addition to being unique in the ease of use of network programs. The team answers these questions.

Therefore, a considerable part of AOL users are ordinary people, who are real consumers.

According to unofficially released data, AOL has close to 10 subscribers, and plans to use the attention brought by the Los Angeles Olympics to break through 100 million registered users.

Thinking of this, Steve Case, who was originally ambitious, suddenly felt a little frustrated.

With AOL's industry-leading airs, Control Video's life, if any, will be dull.

At this time, the phone rang, and Steve Case answered it. It turned out that it was his brother Daniel Case.

The other party asked complainingly: "Steve, what are you busy with these days? I asked you for dinner, but there was no reply."

Steve Case glanced at the box on the table and laughed, "I've been busy surfing the Internet these days, and my stomach problems are all solved with pizza."

"Pacific Telecom is going to be listed soon, and there will be a lot of important people appearing at the banquet at that time. The opportunity is really rare. You should prepare carefully, and we will attend together." Daniel Case urged.

……

PS: It's Chinese New Year, there are many things, the update may be unstable, book friends forgive me!
(End of this chapter)