Global Monopoly of Technology

"How is it? Mr. Allard, what are your thoughts?" Zhang Bowen calmly looked at the chairman and CEO of Marvel Comics.

If you want to buy Marvel, you must first settle Avi Allard. If you settle him, he will be able to better settle the board of directors of Marvel.

It's important who is talking.

Secondly, Marvel does not have much bargaining power now, and the initiative is in the hands of Bluestar Technology Group.

"$1.5 billion is too low. Although the company is currently facing difficulties and does need external support, even if I can accept it, I can't convince the shareholders of the surprise." Avi Arad said helplessly. .

Through the interview, Zhang Bowen also confirmed that Marvel Comics did intend to find an owner to sell itself, so the other party never said a word that he did not consider selling.

Finding an employer means buying you insurance so that even if Iron Man fails miserably at the box office, the company won't go bankrupt.

The surprise company is really miserable now, and no one cares about its intention to sell itself.

Only Luo Sheng knew that in just one year, the box office explosion of "Iron Man" turned the Surprise Company, which was on the verge of life and death, over overnight. The release of Iron Man is another story.

At that time, even if the surprise company also needs to recognize the godfather, many people will throw olive branches to Marvel, and the acquisition price will increase significantly.

Zhang Bowen raised a finger: "OK, I'll add another $100 million, $1.6 billion."

Avi Allard also offered a price: "$2 billion, at least this price, otherwise I won't be able to convince the board."

Hearing this, Zhang Bowen smiled inwardly. As soon as the other party made a counteroffer, he knew that the price could definitely be lower than 2 billion US dollars. Time is running out, the release date of "Iron Man" is set for the beginning of May, and once the box office fails, the copyright of ip characters such as Captain America and Thor will be owned by Bluestar Technology."

When he said this, Allard's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but glance at the people at Merrill Lynch, and cursed him in his heart.

Damn Wall Street!

After a while, Zhang Bowen added: "As soon as the insurance period expires, at that time, once "Iron Man" fails at the box office, the surprise company may really be worthless, and the valuable IP characters are basically gone."

Zhang Bowen played the clear card, and directly turned the hole card to play. This conspiracy negotiation strategy made the other party the most helpless and most helpless.

Because Marvel Comics also doesn't have much confidence in the success of "Iron Man" and can't afford to lose. Once the box office fails and the first-line IP characters are gone, the value of Marvel Comics may be less than $700 million. Not even the lower limit.

"We need to have a good discussion internally. This matter is too important, and it is a matter of life and death for the company." Avi Arad did not continue to bargain, but responded to the other party in this way.

"No problem, I'll stay here for about two or three days,

Only three days. "Zhang Bowen said, and immediately got up, Arad also got up quickly, the two sides shook hands, this meeting is over.

The first meeting did not reach much substantive consensus, and the merger and acquisition transaction involving more than one billion US dollars cannot be negotiated in a few words.

But one thing is for sure, it won't be long.

Regardless of whether this M\u0026A deal is successful or not, it will end before the "Iron Man" movie is released, so there are actually only ten days left.

But the most anxious is obviously not Blue Star Technology Group, but Marvel Comics.

For them, if they want to sell themselves and don't want to take the huge risk of the "Iron Man" fiasco, it is best to facilitate this transaction before the film is released, which is equivalent to buying an insurance for themselves, and then even if The movie failed miserably, and the new owner, Bluestar Technology Group, came to the rescue.

The meaning of the film is completely different.

Marvel certainly dare not bet on the success of the "Iron Man" movie 100. This is the rhythm of betting on one's life, and there is a more gentle way out, and no one is willing to bet everything.

...

The hotel where Zhang Bowen was staying was right now in the middle of the night, and he was making a satellite phone line with Luo Sheng in China.

"Invest 5.5 billion US dollars in cash mergers and acquisitions, and the remaining funds will be completed with the cross-shareholding of Bluestar Technology Group's shares." A voice came from Luo Sheng on the other side of the communicator.

"Understood!" Zhang Bowen responded a little, and the communication ended soon.

It is a stupid decision to buy all with cash. Take the current Bluestar Technology stock to cross-share, and use the cash freed up here to repurchase the company's stock in the second half of the year. At that time, the money for the acquisition of surprise is equal to one cent. The money didn't come out, but it made a lot of money.

On the one hand, the Bluestar Technology shares held by Marvel Comics can be fully hedged through the repurchase of this fund, and more stocks can be bought, which of course will make more money, because Luo Sheng expects Bluestar Technology Stocks will plummet further, far from bottom-hunting.

At the same time, the more critical point is that if all the acquisitions are made with cash, the core layer of surprise animation may be cashed out. Maybe the Marvel Universe plan will change or even fail, and this billion-dollar investment may be lost. It has become a non-performing asset.

Cross-shareholding, tying Marvel Comics to the chariot of Bluestar Technology Group, and indirectly tying the core layer together, they have their own vital interests in it, so they can do their best to make Marvel Pictures bigger and stronger.

The stock market has plummeted as a whole now, and the market value of Bluestar Technology is also falling. However, this is not important to Marvel. The important thing is that it is backed by a large group and at least enough working capital is in place.

The stock market value is the most important thing when you want to cash out and leave the market, but if you want to continue to make achievements in the Marvel business, the fluctuation of the stock market value has no effect.

...

At the same time, Avi Arad also held a meeting with the board of directors of Marvel Comics for urgent discussions on the Bluestar Technology Group merger and acquisition case. Most of the shareholders agreed to sell themselves to Bluestar Technology. Find a thigh to hold it, and enjoy the shade under the big tree, perfect for hedging risks.

The only problem is the acquisition price. Most shareholders feel that Bluestar's offer is a little lower. If it can be higher, a consensus will be reached soon.

You know, Marvel Comics is also in a hurry. They all hope to find a new owner before "Iron Man" is released, and transfer potential risks to Bluestar Technology Group. There is a big group to cover the bottom, so that Marvel Comics does not have to face bankruptcy and liquidation. An existential crisis.

...

On the second day after Zhang Bowen met the head of Marvel Comics, the media suddenly published a news and caused a stir in the industry.

The New Yorker didn't know where to hear the news. The article reported that the global executive vice president of Bluestar Technology Group was negotiating mergers and acquisitions with the CEO of Marvel Comics.

Zhang Bowen saw the "New Yorker" report that morning, and he didn't think much about it. It must be the wind released by Wall Street. The purpose is very simple, in order to pull the surprise stock.

Sure enough, after the news came out, Marvel's stock rose, with a market value of $2.9 billion.

I'm afraid it's not just Wall Street. Some shareholders of Marvel Comics must have secretly leaked this news to the media. This is normal. Once a company acquires another listed company, even if the listed company is currently in a very bad situation. , the stock will rise against the trend, because if someone buys it, it will definitely rise. This is the basic law of the market.

But it is also risky, because Bluestar Technology may not buy it, so for some stock speculators, it would be miserable to encounter such a situation.

Risk and benefit coexist.

After this incident was exposed, there was a lot of uproar in Hollywood. The $1.6 billion offer was considered quite satisfactory, even a little low, but there was no way, the situation of Marvel Comics was there.

As the saying goes, good things are hard to come by. After the acquisition was exposed, other related things also surfaced at the same time.

Two other Marvel-related incidents were also featured in the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Hollywood Reporter that day.

One is that a copyright statement made new waves in the acquisition, and the other is that Disney suddenly came in and slammed the bar.

...