Conquer America, Start with a Boxing Champion

Chapter 402 Strategy (10/10)

After acquiring the shares under Jon Felemey's name, Link's shares in Lionsgate increased to 55.5%, more than half, and also gained control of Lionsgate.

In order to fully control Lionsgate, he made a takeover offer to John Malone, the second largest shareholder.

The other party offered 280 million US dollars.

Link refused and only agreed to buy 32.2% of his shares at the price half a month ago, when Lionsgate's market value was 630 million, about 200 million US dollars.

John Malone refused.

Link didn't care and notified the whole company to hold a board meeting and announced the acquisition of Palm Beach Pictures for 150 million US dollars.

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

Although Palm Beach Pictures produced a hit movie last year and has two movies ready to be released, no matter how you calculate it, its market value is less than 150 million US dollars, and its market value is at most 50 million.

But the offer made by Link was also carefully evaluated by a Wall Street consulting firm and approved by the arbitration committee. The price was very suitable.

In addition, he is a major shareholder of Lionsgate and the chairman of the board of directors, with more than half of the voting rights.

That is to say, he has the final say in Lionsgate now. To be precise, there are only two shareholders left on the board of directors, him and John Malone, who together hold 87.7% of the shares.

The remaining 12.3% is in the hands of Lionsgate management and ordinary shareholders. These people hold less than 5% of the shares and have no right to attend the joint meeting of the board of directors and vote.

"Mr. Baker, I think we need to talk."

In the conference room of Lionsgate, John Malone shouted at the young man across the long table.

At this time, he and Link were both wearing black suits. Link had a delicate hairstyle and a suit and leather shoes, which made him look serious and neat, and he also had the momentum of a billionaire, which made people not underestimate him.

"Okay!"

Link smiled lightly and looked at the other person, a 69-year-old but still energetic old man.

Lionsgate Executive President Steven Bewkes took the initiative to stand up and leave the conference room.

Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Michael Burns, Chief Operating Officer Brian Goldsmith, General Counsel Wayne Levine, Chief Financial Officer James Bage, International Business Operations Officer Andrew Kramer and other Lionsgate executives followed him out.

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

"Mr. Baker, I can sell you the remaining shares, but 200 million US dollars is absolutely impossible."

John Malone said in a deep voice.

"Mr. Malone, I think 200 million US dollars is a very appropriate amount.

If you don't believe it, when the media reports that Lionsgate has decided to acquire Palm Beach Pictures for 150 million, Lionsgate's stock price and market value will plummet.

The shares we hold will shrink by more than half, and at that time, Mr. Malone will not be able to sell them for 200 million US dollars."

Link spread his palms and smiled.

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

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

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

But the subsequent situation exceeded his expectations.

No one expected that Jennifer Lawrence's rumored boyfriend Link would borrow 200 million and sell the hot stocks in his hands to acquire Lionsgate because of this little thing.

This approach was too extreme and far exceeded his expectations.

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

He originally wanted to work with Jon Fehmer to suppress Link in the board of directors, but the accident came again. Jon Fehmer turned around and made a deal with Link, exchanging all his shares for 3.2% Twitter shares.

After receiving this news, he was very disappointed, and he also understood Fehmer's choice. The current Twitter stock market is very good. It is a hot stock in the investment circle and is more valuable than the Lionsgate shares with fluctuating stock prices.

If this happened to me, I would also 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 completely controls the board of directors. If he insists on making some stupid moves and destroying Lionsgate, then the stocks in his hands will become a pile of waste paper.

John Malone looked at the young and energetic young man opposite. The other party is 22 years old this year and has a net worth of more than 2 billion. He has been in investment banking for more than 40 years, but now he only has more than 1 billion.

Compared with Link, John Malone has to admit that he is really old. Now is the time for youth.

"Mr. Baker, 250 million, I will sell all my shares to you, and Lionsgate will belong to you alone in the future."

John Malone said.

"Mr. Malone, have you ever considered not selling your shares and staying at Lionsgate?

I've read your profile. You are very influential in the media industry, and you have some experience in company management and movie investment. If we join forces, we will definitely make Lionsgate bigger and stronger, and make it a major production company on par with the Big Six.

Then our shares will appreciate dozens of times, Mr. Malone, I suggest you seriously consider it."

Link said.

John Malone frowned and looked at him, wanting to see a joke on his face, but there was none.

Link's expression was very serious when he said these words, as if he was stating a fact, not a dream.

But the more this happened, the more he wanted to sell Lionsgate shares as soon as possible.

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

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

It's just a foolish dream.

Jumping ship early is definitely a wise choice.

"Mr. Baker, I am willing to sell all my shares to you for 200 million US dollars, but I want the remaining Twitter shares under your hands and 84 million in cash."

John Malone said.

He is also an investor in the media industry. He owns shares in many media companies. If he holds 2% of Twitter shares, his media kingdom will have one more piece, and it is also an important piece.

"Mr. Malone, your proposal is good, but according to the current market conditions, Twitter's market value is growing at a rate of one billion US dollars per month, and is expected to exceed 10 billion by the end of the year. The market value of Lionsgate has now fallen, lower than the original 630 million. It is obviously unfair to trade in this way. My proposal is 2% 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 before the end of the year. Although Twitter's market value is rising, it is not without the risk of falling."

John Malone said in a deep voice.

Link couldn't help frowning when he heard that the other party didn't agree.

After acquiring the initial 26.8% of Lionsgate shares, he already had more than 200 million in debt. If he continued to borrow, the annual interest would be tens of millions of dollars, which was a bit stressful.

"Shares plus 30 million in cash, this is my bottom line."

——

While the two were bargaining in the conference room, several senior executives of Lionsgate were frowning in the small conference room next door, with a solemn look on their faces.

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

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

In 2009, it spent 220 million to acquire TV Guide Network.

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

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

Now the company has experienced ups and downs in the board of directors, and Link, an outsider, has become the helmsman of the company.

It can be predicted that the company will definitely encounter a more serious crisis next.

Now Hollywood has many film companies going bankrupt every year, and senior management talents are saturated. If Lionsgate goes bankrupt, they may find it difficult to find a job in the circle that must be better than the current one.

"Alas!"

Steven Bewkes sighed. He never thought 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 what President Mandy Gomez said. If a company's operation needs to be ordered by outsiders, the company is not far from bankruptcy.

This is indeed the case with Lionsgate now.

At the beginning, he failed to resist the pressure of the board of directors and helped Weinstein a little, which led to the acquisition of the company. If the management is not good, the company will go bankrupt and he will 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 and did not change people, so he would not encounter 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.

"Excuse me, is President Bix here?"

The middle-aged lady asked.

When Bix saw her, the muscles at the corners of his eyes could not help but twitch. Last time, he was scolded by her in person, which made him depressed for several days. Now he was found by the other party again. This is definitely not a good thing.

But the current situation does not 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."

John Malone asked at the coffee table.

"Excuse me!"

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

John Malone asked.

Link smiled lightly, "Yes, I promised Jennifer Lawrence to help her get this role. I will do what I said, no matter how much it costs."

John Malone frowned his gray eyebrows and asked in disbelief: "For an actress, you are willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars?"

"I think it's worth it. I am a boxer. My favorite thing is to defeat my opponent and win the game. For me, helping my woman get the 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 lose, for me, it's just the appearance fee for a few boxing matches. I don't care. I only care about winning or losing."

Link said indifferently.

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

This is a guy who is desperate for victory or defeat. Probably because of this, he will become the undefeated king of boxing and a top singer in the music industry.

"I heard that if you faced off against Harvey Weinstein, would you also do everything you can to defeat his opponent?"

"Harvey?"

Link curled up the corner of his mouth and sneered with 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 overcome him."

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

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

In Link's eyes, the big shot 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 walking away from the conference room, Ms. Mandy came up to him and asked.

"It went very well, now the 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 managers, only 7.6% of the shares are currently lost.

Seeing that several senior executives were present, 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.

Currently, Lionsgate Pictures is releasing three movies: "The Expendables," "Dirty Dancing 2," and "Young Lady," with average box office results.

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

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

A fifth season of the television series Mad Men is in production.

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

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

There are three main parts of Lionsgate Pictures’ benign assets.

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.

With royalties and other income, it can stably generate about US$80 million in cash flow every year, 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 TV Guide TV guide shares, with a market value of approximately US$220 million.

These three parts are the main assets of Lionsgate Pictures. If they are separated and sold, and the loans are paid off, the remaining assets will be less than US$400 million.

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 to hear what he said.

The second topic in 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 and is prepared to continue to hold them, he is welcome. It is entirely voluntary.

After hearing his words, several senior executives had no reaction. Now Link holds 87.7% of Lions Gate's shares, and there is not much left. As for whether to sell the shares in his hands, he still needs to seriously consider it.

"Everyone, do you have any questions?"

Link asked as he looked at his eight core executives.

"Mr. Baker, if we want to fully acquire Palm Beach Pictures, given the current situation of the company, we may not be able to afford it, and we will need to mortgage the assets."

said President Steven Bewkes.

"Then just wait and we'll talk about it later when we have the 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, focusing on producing low-cost female-themed films, and the films produced can be distributed by Lionsgate Pictures, 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 all stood up and said.

Link waved his hand and adjourned the meeting.