Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion - Chapter 402

 Chapter 402 Strategy (10/10)

 After acquiring the shares in Jon Fillame’s name, Link’s shares in Lionsgate Pictures increased to 55.5%, more than half, and he also gained control of Lionsgate Pictures.

 In order to take full control of Lionsgate, he issued a takeover offer to John Malone, the second-ranked shareholder.

 The other party quoted a price of US$280 million.

Link refused and only agreed to acquire 32.2% of his shares at the price half a month ago, when Lionsgate Pictures was valued at 630 million, for about US$200 million.

  John Malone refused.

Link didn’t care either. He notified the entire company to hold a board meeting and announced the acquisition of Palm Beach Pictures for US$150 million.

This decision was immediately opposed by John Malone, the second largest shareholder.

Although Palm Beach Pictures produced a blockbuster movie last year and has two movies ready for release, no matter how you calculate it, its market value is less than 150 million U.S. dollars, with a market value of at most 50 million.

However, the price quoted by Linke has also been carefully evaluated by a Wall Street consulting firm and approved by the arbitration committee. This price is very suitable.

In addition, he is the majority shareholder and chairman of the board of directors of Lionsgate Pictures, holding more than half of the voting rights.

  In other words, he now has the final say over the other shareholders of Lionsgate Pictures. To be precise, there are only two shareholders left on the board of directors, namely him and John Malone. Their combined shares reach 87.7%.

 The remaining 12.3% is in the hands of Lions Gate management and ordinary shareholders. These people hold less than 5% of the shares and do not have the right to participate in joint board meetings and vote.

 “Mr. Baker, I think we need to talk.”

 In the large conference room of Lionsgate Studios, John Malone looked at the young people across the long table and shouted.

At this time, both he and Link were wearing black suits. Link had an exquisite hair style, suit and leather shoes. He looked serious and neat, and had the aura of a billionaire, which was not to be underestimated.

“OK!”

Link smiled softly and looked at the other person, a 69-year-old man who was still energetic.

 Lionsgate CEO Steven Bewkes voluntarily stood up and exited the meeting room.

Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Michael Burns, Chief Operating Officer Brian Goldsmith, General Counsel Wayne Levin, Chief Financial Officer James Budge, International Business Operations Officer Andrew Cramer and other lions Door Pictures executives followed and left.

 After everyone exited, there were only two people and two assistants left in the conference room.

“Mr. Baker, I can sell you the remaining shares, but $200 million is absolutely impossible.”

John Malone said in a deep voice.

“Mr. Malone, I think US$200 million is a very appropriate amount.

If you don’t believe it, once the news comes out in the media that Lionsgate Pictures has decided to acquire Palm Beach Pictures for 150 million, Lionsgate Pictures’ stock price and market value will plummet.

Our shares will shrink by more than half, and it will be impossible for Mr. Malone to sell it for US$200 million at that time. “

Link spread his palms and smiled.

John Malone wrinkled his gray eyebrows and was in a bad mood.

Not long ago, he was asked by his old friend Harvey Weinstein to intervene in the casting of his film “The Hunger Games”.

 For him, as a major shareholder, this kind of thing is just a matter of one sentence, and it is not difficult at all.

 But what happened next was beyond his expectation.

No one thought that Jennifer Lawrence’s rumored boyfriend Link would borrow 200 million, sell his popular stocks, and acquire Lionsgate Pictures because of this trivial matter.

This approach was too extreme and far beyond his expectation.

 In order to teach Link a lesson, he also purchased shares of Lionsgate Pictures and became the largest shareholder.

He originally planned to join forces with Jon Femele on the board of directors to suppress Link, but an accident happened again. Jon Femele turned around and reached a deal with Link, exchanging all his shares for 3.2% of Twitter shares.

 After receiving the news, he was disappointed, but also understood Felleme’s choice. Twitter’s stock is currently doing very well and is a popular stock in the investment circle, and is more valuable than Lionsgate shares, whose stock price has fluctuated.

Even if this happens to me, I will choose to trade.

 It’s just that Link didn’t propose a deal at that time.

Now there are only two people left on the board of directors. Link has more than half of the voting rights and has full control of the board of directors. If he insists on making some stupid moves to bring down Lionsgate Pictures, the stocks in his hand will also become a pile of waste paper. .

John Malone looked at the young, energetic and energetic young man opposite him. He was 22 years old and already worth more than 2 billion. He had been in investment banking for more than 40 years, and now he only had more than 1 billion.

Compared to Link, John Malone has to admit that he is really old, and now is a young era.

“Mr. Baker, for 250 million, I will sell all my shares to you. From now on, Lionsgate will belong to you alone.”

John Malone said.

“Mr. Malone, have you ever considered staying at Lionsgate without selling your shares?

I have read your information. You are very influential in the media industry, and you have some experience in company management and film investment. If we join forces, we will definitely make Lionsgate Pictures bigger and stronger, and become one of the six largest companies in the world. Big studios from big studios.

 At that time, the value of the stocks in our hands will increase dozens of times. Mr. Malone, I suggest you seriously consider it. “

Link said.

John Malone frowned and looked at him, expecting to see a joking element on his face, but there was none.

Link’s expression was very serious when he said these words, as if he was describing a fact rather than a dream.

 But the more this happens, the more he wants to get rid of Lions Gate shares as soon as possible.

Everyone knows that Link is a boxer, singer, and movie actor. He knows nothing about managing companies. In the past two years, he relied on luck and courage to bet on a few stocks and earned more than 2 billion.

He himself knows nothing about company management. All his companies are managed by professional managers. He also doesn’t know much about film investment. Can such a person make the company bigger and stronger?

  It’s just nonsense.

 Jumping ship early is definitely a wise choice.

“Mr. Baker, I am willing to sell all my shares to you for $200 million, but I want your remaining Twitter shares and 84 million in cash.”

John Malone said.

He is also an investor in the media industry. He owns shares in multiple media companies. If he holds 2% of Twitter shares, he will have one more piece in the puzzle of his media empire, which is also an important piece.

“Mr. Malone, your proposal is good, but according to the current market situation, Twitter’s market value is growing at a rate of one billion U.S. dollars every month, and is expected to exceed 10 billion by the end of the year, while Lionsgate’s market value has now fallen, and is even higher than the original 630 million. Low, it’s obviously unfair to trade in this way. My proposal is 2% of Twitter shares and 25 million in cash.”

“Impossible! The current market value of Twitter is 5.8 billion, and 2% is worth 116 million. We can’t calculate it based on the market value at the end of the year. No one knows how much Twitter is worth until the end of the year. Although Twitter’s market price is rising, it is not without falling. risks of.”

John Malone said in a deep voice.

Link couldn’t help but frown when he heard that the other party didn’t agree.

After acquiring the initial 26.8% of Lions Gate shares, he has already been saddled with more than 200 million in debt. If he continues to borrow money, the annual interest will be tens of millions of dollars, which is a bit stressful.

“Stocks plus 30 million in cash, this is my bottom line.”

  —

While the two were bargaining in the conference room, in the small conference room next door, several senior executives of Lionsgate were frowning and looking solemn.

 In recent years, Lionsgate has acquired Triangle Entertainment and Artisan Entertainment to expand the company’s distribution capabilities.

 In 2006, it spent more than 60 million to acquire Trimark Company and Debmar-Mercury Company to improve the company’s TV series production capabilities.

  In 2009, it spent another 220 million to acquire TVGuideNetwork.

 Last year, it spent 50 million to acquire MGM Pictures Distribution Company.

The cost of continuous acquisitions is that the company has a serious financial deficit. The company’s original market value was 630 million, but it had a financial deficit of 180 million.

Now the company is experiencing another boardroom ups and downs, and layman Lin Ke has become the helmsman of the company.

 It is foreseeable that the company will definitely encounter a more serious crisis in the future.

Nowadays, many film companies in Hollywood go bankrupt every year, and top management talents are saturated. If Lionsgate goes bankrupt, it may be difficult for them to find a better job in the industry than now.

“well!”

 Steven Bix sighed. He never expected that just because of a movie role, the company would be acquired and the board of directors would be reorganized.

 These rich people are so willful.

At the same time, he also remembered the words of President Mandy Gomez. If a company needs to listen to the instructions of outsiders for its operations, the company is not far from bankruptcy.

 This is certainly the case at Lionsgate. At first, I failed to resist the pressure from the board of directors and did Weinstein a small favor, which resulted in the company being acquired. If the company did not perform well, the company would go bankrupt and I would be laid off.

Thinking of this, President Bix secretly regretted that when he heard John Malone’s instructions, he should have been tougher and resisted the pressure without replacing people, so he would not have encountered this situation.

 Dong dong dong!

 The door of the small conference room was knocked several times, and a middle-aged lady with round cheeks stood at the door.

 “Is President Bix here?”

 The middle-aged lady asked.

Bix couldn’t help but twitch the muscles in the corners of his eyes when he saw her. He was scolded by her in front of her last time, which made him depressed for several days, and now he was approached by her again. This was definitely not a good thing.

 But the current situation cannot allow him to avoid it.

 President Bix took a deep breath and showed a stiff smile.

 “President Gomez, we meet again.”

  —

“Mr. Baker, I have a question. I wonder if you can answer it for me.”

 At the coffee table, John Malone asked.

“Excuse me!”

“What is the purpose of your acquisition of Lionsgate? It is rumored that it is to help the rumored girlfriend get back her roles. Is this true?”

 John Malone asked.

Link smiled softly, “Yes, I promised Jennifer Lawrence to help her get this role, and I will do what I say, no matter what the cost.”

John Malone frowned with gray eyebrows and asked in disbelief: “You are willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for an actress?”

“I think it’s worth it. I’m a boxer, and my favorite thing is to defeat my opponent and win the game. For me, helping my woman get her role back is a game.

In order to win this game, I will mobilize all resources within my ability to defeat my opponent. As for how much money I will lose, for me, it is just the appearance fees for a few boxing matches. I don’t care. I do care. There are only wins and losses. “

Link said nonchalantly.

John Malone looked at him and was shocked by the strong fighting spirit bursting out of him.

 This is a guy who will do whatever it takes to win or lose. Probably because of this, he will become the undefeated king of boxing and a top singer in the music industry.

“I heard that you were facing off against Harvey Weinstein, would you do everything possible to defeat him?”

 “Harvey?”

Link raised the corners of his lips and sneered with a pretense of disdain, “Is he worthy of being my opponent? No, he is just an insignificant stumbling block on my road to success. I can easily get over him.”

John Malone was stunned for a moment, laughing a few times in his throat, and suddenly realized that he could not understand this young man.

 Harvey Weinstein is currently the most powerful person in Hollywood. He is known as an Oscar-making machine, a gold medal producer, and a big figure sought after by everyone in the film industry.

In Link’s eyes, the big man Harvey is just an insignificant stumbling block.

This young man is too crazy.

 Sooner or later he will pay for his arrogance.

 John Malone is not Link’s elder or friend, and has no obligation to advise him.

He shook his head, picked up a pen and signed the letter of intent, said hello, and then left Lionsgate Pictures with his assistant.

  —

 “Link, how was your talk with John Malone?”

Seeing Link leaving the conference room, Ms. Mandy came up to him and asked.

 “It went very well, now Lions Gate is mine.”

Link shook the document in his hand.

After several rounds of bargaining, he finally spent 2% of Twitter shares and $72 million in cash to get the Lions Gate shares from John Malone.

 Currently, he personally holds 87.7% of the shares of Lions Gate Pictures. Counting 4.7% of the shares held by several management members, only 7.6% of the shares are currently lost.

Seeing that several senior executives were there, Link announced that the company meeting would continue, with Ms. Mandy attending.

 At the meeting, he listened to work reports from several senior executives of Lionsgate Pictures.

Lionsgate Pictures is currently releasing three movies: “The Expendables”, “Dirty Dancing 2” and “Little Miss”, with average box office results.

Six film projects in production include “The Hunger Games”, “The Cabin in the Woods”, “The Evil Dead”, etc.

Except “The Hunger Games”, all others are small productions with a production cost of less than 15 million.

 The fifth season of a TV series, Mad Men, is currently in production.

In addition to distributing films produced by the company, Lionsgate Films also participates in distributing films from companies such as Relativity Pictures and Summit Entertainment. Currently, four films are being scheduled.

 Lionsgate Pictures currently has a debt of 180 million, and only less than 30 million is left to invest in movies.

 The good assets of Lionsgate Pictures mainly include three parts.

 The first is through the acquisition of other production and distribution companies. Lionsgate Pictures owns the copyrights of 12,000 movies and TV series per episode.

 Per year, royalties and other income can generate a stable cash flow of about US$80 million, but due to liabilities, this part is temporarily mortgaged to the bank.

 The second part is the three distribution companies and channels of Triangle Entertainment, Artisan Entertainment, and MGM Entertainment, with a market value of approximately US$150 million.

 The third part is the Debmar TV production unit and TVGuide TV guide shares, with a market value of approximately US$220 million.

These three parts are the main assets of Lions Gate Pictures. If they are separated and sold, and the loans are paid off, less than 400 million US dollars will be left.

 It was much worse than Link expected.

But it is also expected that if Lionsgate Pictures is in good operating conditions, several major shareholders will not agree to sell their shares.

Link told several supervisors at the meeting that Lionsgate’s management would not make adjustments for the time being and would still perform their duties. After the meeting, everyone should continue with the work at hand and try not to affect the film and television industry due to changes in the company. Project production.

 The executives were relieved when they heard what he said.

 The second topic at Link’s meeting was to delist Lionsgate Pictures from the New York Stock Exchange.

 He ​​will continue to spend money to acquire the remaining shares. Several senior executives also hold Lions Gate shares. If he is willing to sell, he will acquire them at a market value of 630 million. If he is optimistic about the development of Lions Gate, he is welcome to continue to hold them. It is entirely voluntary.

Hearing what he said, several senior executives had no reaction. Now Link holds 87.7% of Lions Gate’s shares, and the remaining part is not much. As for whether to sell the shares in his hands, he still needs to seriously consider.

 “Everyone, do you have any questions?”

Link asked as he looked at his eight core executives.

“Mr. Baker, regarding the acquisition of Palm Beach Pictures by the Chamber of Commerce, if we want to fully acquire it, given the current situation of the company, we may not be able to afford it, and we will need to mortgage the assets.”

President Steven Bix said.

 “Then wait a little longer, and we’ll talk about it later when we have money.”

Link said.

In fact, the acquisition of Palm Beach Pictures was just a means for him to deal with John Malone, hoping that the other party would hand over the shares of Lions Gate.

Now that I have obtained the shares, I can put aside the matter of acquiring Palm Beach.

He plans to let Palm Beach Pictures operate independently and focus on producing low-cost female-themed films. The films produced can be distributed by Lionsgate Pictures, creating a mutually beneficial win-win situation.

“Everyone, if there are no problems, please go back to your respective jobs and do your job well. The next moment will be the real test for us.”

Link said.

 “Yes, Mr. Baker!”

 Executive President Steven Biggs, Vice President Michael Burns and others stood up and said.

Link waved his hand and announced that the meeting was adjourned.

 (End of this chapter)