Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 216 My Bullets Can Turn

In the middle of this year, when Ethan held a new product launch conference, North American theaters were absent.

This incident was like a sharp thorn in his heart, and he still remembers it vividly.

Although he kept telling himself that the North American theaters had no choice, after all, their main business was film screening. When four of the eight major Hollywood companies expressly prohibited them from participating in the new product launch of Destiny Game, even if they wanted to purchase Destiny Game's products, they were powerless.

But to be honest, even if Ethan kept comforting himself, this behavior of using industry advantages to monopolize and ban still made him very unhappy. He really wanted to point at the noses of those Hollywood giants and curse them -

"What the hell!"

"You can't beat me head-on, so you're playing tricks on me, right?"

"You wait!"

"One day I will poke your eyes into your buttocks!"

Ethan originally thought that this kind of thing would not happen until next year at the earliest, because only then would he introduce his home console to the world, portray his movies to the world, and show his games to the world. However, he never expected that Steve Ross's behavior would bring all this forward.

As I said, when others have already thrown their fists, there is no such thing as tolerance.

But how to destroy Warner’s base?
That depends on Roy Disney.

"Oh - Mr. Jones - I am very glad to receive your invitation at this time -"

"Your counterattack a while ago was really brilliant!"

"You got the chip patent directly, bypassing Allen Bradley and Motorola?"

"You also asked Komodor and Alan Bradley to compensate you for your emotional damages?"

"Wow! This is truly a textbook counterattack! If the entire process could be made public, I believe this battle would become a classic course in MBA!"

Steve Ballmer took the call in the morning.

Roy Disney arrived in Palo Alto in the afternoon.

That unconcealed speed was the decisiveness that Ethan liked. After shaking hands and hugging Roy Disney, Ethan invited him to sit down and went straight into the topic.

"Roy, since you pay so much attention to me, you should have guessed why I invited you here?"

"Of course." Roy Disney nodded with a smile.

"Ethan, I have always believed that you would be interested in the cooperation I proposed."

"Yeah~Yeah~Yeah~" Ethan nodded continuously at the naked words. Since Roy Disney was so enthusiastic, he would not pretend. "So... shall we start?"

"Okay."

Roy Disney opened the briefcase next to him and took out a document.

After Ethan took it and flipped through it briefly, he found that the terms of cooperation presented in black words on a white background were not much different from the cooperation plan that Roy Disney had previously told him.

Roy Disney wanted Ethan to help him regain actual control of the Disney Group. To this end, he would give actual rewards in the three areas of animation production, theme park opening, and shopping mall distribution.

In addition, Roy Disney also said that after he becomes the chairman and sorts out the relationships within the group, he will lead the group to develop in the two directions of live-action movies and video games;

Previously, his promise on live-action film projects was still valid. As long as Spielberg and Lucas were willing to cooperate, he would hand over Disney Group's live-action film business to them.
At the same time, he will also take out all the cartoon characters of the Disney Group for Ethan to make games, and the distribution of costs and benefits... Destiny Game bears the game production costs, and the Walt Disney Group bears the manufacturing costs of the arcade machines. The two companies share the copyright of electronic games. During the sales stage, Destiny Game can get 25% of the sales as a return, and the arcade machines placed in the Disney Group's own stores will be commissioned according to the turnover, with Destiny Game enjoying 35% and Disney enjoying 65%. Although the Disney Group gets more, they have provided the store and IP after all. At the same time, they will also bear all maintenance costs after the arcade machines are sold.

To put it simply, Ethan just makes games.

After the game is made, he can sit in the company and wait to collect the money.

And this ratio——

It's higher than Nintendo.

The sincere cooperation plan made Ethan smile. He closed the document and said, "Roy, I actually conveyed your sincerity to Steven and George a long time ago."

"I don't know what George thinks yet, but as for Steven... I just came back from John Bull a few days ago, and he is very interested in your invitation. I can tell you one piece of news, so far, he has no plans to officially renew his contract with Universal."

"Oh - Ethan - thank you so much!" Roy Disney smiled happily at the news, and said excitedly: "Ethan, you may not know that I suffered from insomnia almost every day before I met you! But since I communicated with you, all this no longer exists! I used to think it was God's blessing, but now I understand that I felt your true sincerity!"

"Hahaha——" Ethan's taunting words immediately broke his concentration.

He waved his hand, signaling Roy Disney not to do this. At the same time, he poured cold water on the guy, "Steven did tell me that he is very interested in your proposal, but at the same time, he also told me that if possible, he still wants to cooperate with me."

"It doesn't matter." Roy Disney didn't care about the details. "As long as both of us are willing to cooperate, we can discuss a cooperation plan that satisfies both parties."

"For example, you guys invest in the production of the movie, and we at Disney are responsible for the distribution."

"For example, if you are willing to accept our investment, we can also reasonably set up advisory seats for Steven and George in the group and let them indirectly manage the live-action film department."

"Ethan, let me tell you this."

"I, Roy Disney, have always felt that a contract is simply a form of certification."

“It’s not a constraint.”

"I just believe that the exchange of interests between each party is the foundation for everything."

Although Ethan didn't know whether Roy Disney's words were just a show to win him over or a sincere desire for cooperation, no matter what his starting point was, Ethan felt happy after hearing these beautiful words.

"Okay, I feel relieved with your words."

Ethan shook the documents in his hand and said, “Let’s discuss the specific projects?”

"can."

Roy Disney said: "After all, the premise of our cooperation is that I can successfully obtain control of the group, and from the current situation, you should be familiar with all of this."

Everything Roy Disney mentioned, of course, was referring to the hostile takeover, and this thing...

Ethan was indeed familiar.

He smiled and nodded, being humble to Roy Disney, and then the two sides began to discuss the competition for control of the Walt Disney Group. With Roy Disney's introduction, Ethan also gained a macro understanding of the current situation of the Walt Disney Group.

So far, the largest shareholder of the Walt Disney Group is Roy Disney, who owns nearly 9.1% of the group's shares, all of which are the wealth left to him by his father;
The second largest shareholder of the Walt Disney Group is Carden Walker, who has worked for the Disney Group for more than 30 years and is a true veteran. Since joining Disney in 1938, he started as a clerk in the mailroom, worked as a photographer, a short film department manager, and the president of advertising and sales, and finally became the current group president and CEO. These hard work earned him nearly 5.1% of the shares, and because he was Walt Disney's confidant, he firmly stood on the side of Walt Disney's descendants in this internal struggle of the Disney family;

The third largest shareholder is Ron Miller, Walt Disney's son-in-law. His shares were donated by Walt Disney when he was alive. He owns 4.8%. Of course, according to Roy Disney, this may also be a proxy holding. At the same time, he is also the president of Walt Disney Productions, nominally leading all production departments of the entire Walt Disney Group.
As for why in name only?
That's because the animation department of the Walt Disney Group was entirely run by Roy Disney's people.

These guys are much more arrogant than Erlang Shen in Guanjiangkou. They neither obey orders nor follow instructions.

In addition to the above three people, the fourth place is the current chairman of the Walt Disney Group, Don Tatum, who owns nearly 3.7% of the company's shares. He is also a staunch royalist and does not get along with Roy Disney, the great prince;

Perhaps because Walt Disney's animation was so impressive, they rarely accepted external investment before going public. After going public, no one sold their shares, but only cashed out by mortgaging. Therefore, the top four shareholders were individuals. From the fifth position onwards, institutions officially appeared. It was a private equity fund that owned 2.9% of the total shares of the Disney Group.

The sixth largest shareholder is the family charity foundation founded by Walt Disney when he was alive. The foundation holds 2.5% of the shares. Although Roy Disney also has a share, the current controller of the fund is Walt Disney's daughter Diane Disney...

"In other words, your actual voting rights in the company are currently 9.1%?"

"And Ron Miller's actual voting power is 16.1?"

“Isn’t this number a bit off?”

After listening to Roy Disney's description, Ethan's forehead showed the word "川".

If Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron Miller's base is nearly twice as much as Roy Disney's, then this equity battle cannot be fought at all. Because even if Ethan buys up all the shares in the open market, he can only get 5.5 at most, and then he has to make it public. In this case, his shareholding and Roy Disney's shareholding add up to only 14.6. As long as Walt Disney's son-in-law does not reduce his holdings, these people can always suppress them.

Although Roy Disney could seek help from other shareholders,...

This search is the same, right?

Ron Miller can also communicate with other shareholders!
Once things get to this point, the two sides will engage in a long tug-of-war.

Ethan felt that things were a bit troublesome, and Roy Disney did not hide it. He looked at Ethan straight in the eyes and said, "Yes, that's why I took the initiative to resign and leave the group last year."

"Because I can't let the other shareholders see the huge gap between me and Ron Miller."

"When it comes to seizing power, there is only one chance."

"Either succeed directly or accept failure."

The unpretentious words made Ethan fold his arms and lean back on the sofa.

At this moment, Ethan had completely understood why Roy Disney was staring at him. Just like Evelyn had said before, at the moment, only he could help Roy Disney seize power!
When Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron Miller won over the two veterans of the company and controlled 16.1% of the shares, other shareholders would naturally be attracted to him!
The reason...

It's also very simple.

The reason why institutions in the market hold shares of Disney Group is that they feel that Disney Group has a certain investment space. In this case, if the actual operators who have worked for the group for many years and made great contributions to the company feel that a guy has the potential to reach the top, then the guys who make financial investments in Disney Group will definitely agree with their point of view!

after all……

They don’t understand operations!

after all……

What they want is the company's financial growth!
When this situation occurred, even if Roy Disney went to Wall Street to find someone, those guys would not be able to help him regain the management rights of the company 100%, because the guys on Wall Street also made financial investments!
Therefore, the only person who can break the deadlock is someone who can make Walt Disney make a lot of money!

Only the shareholders felt that the people Roy Disney brought in were better than those Ron Miller showed!

They will vote for Roy Disney!

And he, Ethan Jones...

And Steven Spielberg and George Lucas around...

That can directly defeat Ron Miller!
If Roy Disney had really gotten them...

Ethan believes that Disney's other shareholders will vote with their feet 100%!
Thinking of this, Ethan, who was leaning on the sofa, suddenly had his eyes flickering.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly and he smiled.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that he seemed to understand how Michael Eisner had come to Disney in his previous life. When Michael Eisner had extensive experience in the entertainment industry and a strong background, shareholders who made financial investments in Disney would naturally choose him.

"Oh - Roy - I think I see what you mean -"

Ethan stretched out his voice and looked at Roy Disney with a smile.

"Hahaha - Ethan - my good brother - you guessed right -" Since Ethan had seen through everything, Roy Disney stopped pretending, "I really waited for you for a long time..." He said: "Thank God... He made me wait for you..."

Ethan pursed his lips at the frank words.

After staring at Roy Disney for a while, he asked again: "So how many shares can I take?"

"You can take as much as you want," Roy Disney said. "After all, the more you take, the more shareholders will trust me, believe that I can win you over, and believe that the Disney Group will get better and better."

“What is my purchase price?”

"If nothing goes wrong, after I launch the operation to save Disney, you can buy 5 points of shares for about 30 million." Roy Disney did some mental calculations.

"Your proposal time is..."

"All ninety days."

These data made Ethan very satisfied.

Because when using financial instruments, he only needs to put up eight or nine million in cash at most, which can leverage the entire game. At the same time, when Disney's charter stipulates that shareholders can exercise their rights after holding shares for ninety days, the battle will not last too long.

Ethan also discovered that this information would allow him to better sell video arcade machines in North American theaters.

Before Roy Disney arrived, Ethan's plan was this -

He wanted to break up the monopoly-playing team by blocking MGM's acquisition of Columbia Pictures and by helping Roy Disney seize power.

When the companies opposing Game of Destiny's entry into North American theaters changed from Disney, Paramount, MGM, and Warner to Paramount, MGM, and Warner, the blockade pressure faced by North American theaters will be greatly reduced.

Even if these three companies don't supply movies, they can still get movies from Universal, Fox, Disney, and Columbia. And how could Paramount, MGM, and Warner really not supply movies to North American theaters? When the streaming era has not yet arrived, movies can only be shown in theaters after they are made!
Of course, the above are all ideal conditions.

The actual operation will be very troublesome.

But now——

When Roy Disney said that he could hold a large number of shares in the Disney Group, and that the shareholders in Disney were all fence-sitters...

Breaking through the ban is very simple.

Ethan just -

Think differently.

"can."

Thinking of this, Ethan, with a clear mind, agreed.

"Okay."

Roy Disney smiled and rubbed his hands at the crisp answer.

Just when Roy Disney thought that today's matter had been discussed, Ethan changed the subject and said, "Roy, besides this, I have one more thing I want to discuss with you."

Roy Disney instinctively narrowed his eyes at the polite words.

But he said, "Oh Ethan - just say it -"

"As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it."

"You can definitely do it." Ethan said with a smile: "According to past practice, our Destiny Game will only hold a new product launch conference once a year, but this year, it's different."

"Because the games we launched previously did not meet our sales expectations and did not reach our revenue standards, I want to launch another game at the end of this year."

"As for the specific time of the game's release..."

"I haven't decided yet."

"Here's what I think. Since I've decided to help you, the release date of the new game should overlap with the release date of Ron Miller's game."

"Although this may seem disadvantageous to me, it can help you effectively attack Ron Miller's new game. When their game directly competes with ours, sales will definitely be affected. In this case, don't you have a reason to attack him?"

"This will allow you to kick off the Save Disney campaign!"

"And I can also buy more Disney shares at a cheaper price."

Such words made Roy Disney's eyes light up!
Because the action to save Disney is not something that can be launched casually!
He must first find a reason to attack Ron Miller and the current group management, saying that their management methods and personal abilities will drag down the group, and then he will have a reason to take over!
And these...

It takes time to do it.

at the same time……

There is no better way to be criticized in business than to find a reason by force!

At this moment he really felt Ethan's sincerity!

"Oh - Ethan - you really are -" He wanted to say something, but found that the words he knew were no longer able to describe his feelings at the moment. After brewing for a long time, he finally chose to smile and nod, saying: "I will help you find out when I go back."

"Okay." Ethan liked this answer.

"Then can I ask, what game will you release at the end of this year..."

“The new Pac-Man.”

"!!!"

Ethan's answer made Roy Disney overjoyed!
Although he hadn't seen the game, he believed that -

Just the name "Pac-Man" is enough to kill everything!
"Oh—Ethan—that's the best news I've heard all year—"

"I must treat you to dinner tonight!"

"Let's go! We're going to San Francisco now!"

Roy Disney jumped up excitedly, and he looked so happy that one might even think he wanted to hug Ethan's thighs and call him Godfather.

And his excitement also made Ethan smile and wave his hands, saying: "Roy, I haven't finished yet."

"Just say it!"

"I need you to help me contact the North American theaters. Since we are going to attack Ron Miller, it is unreasonable for my arcade machines not to appear in North American theaters, right?"

"???"

The sudden demand was like a bucket of cold water, which left Roy Disney stunned on the spot.

He frowned slightly, looking embarrassed.

Because he knew that the blockade of Destiny Game was jointly imposed by several companies.

in this case……

How could he help Ethan untie it by himself?

Ethan also caught the embarrassment in his eyes, so he added fuel to the fire and said, "Roy, you don't want Ron Miller to occupy the company for too long, do you?"

"Your uncle Walt Disney is indeed a genius, but he is only a creative genius. The current scale of the entire company is largely due to your father's efforts!"

"I think... you don't want to see your father's hard work destroyed, right?"

When Ethan used the tone of a great master and presented facts and reason to Roy Disney...

The guy immediately pursed his lips.

Ethan saw clearly the man's unsure behavior. Before the other party made a decision, he said, "Besides, I don't think this is a big deal."

"First, our actions did not harm MGM or Paramount."

"When MGM has sold 10,000 arcade machines and Paramount will release the game in the fall, it doesn't matter to them how much Ron Miller makes during the Christmas period."

"Secondly, MGM and Paramount should have expressed dissatisfaction with Ron Miller getting the Christmas schedule a long time ago, right? If there was an internal fight between you, they would definitely not stop it."

"even--"

"MGM, which I have beaten, will still laugh and watch Ron Miller lose money."

"In this case, the only one who is really suffering is Philips."

"And what does this have to do with you?"

Ethan smiled at Roy Disney.

The guy, who was almost twenty-five years older than him, looked thoughtful.

That's right!

Ethan suddenly came up with a new idea: to sell video arcade machines to North American theaters by participating in the internal fight of the Disney family! Because internal collapse is always easier than external attack!
If he were to engage in a head-on confrontation with Universal, Fox, Disney, Warner, Paramount, and MGM, North American theaters would still be under tremendous pressure!

Do you want a third party to make the best decision for him or her under great pressure?
That's just a dream!

But now, as he becomes part of the Disney family's infighting, everything is different!

In the eyes of his enemies, he is indeed selling games, but his goal is not just to sell games!

He wants to turn the Walt Disney Group upside down while selling games!

For Philips, this behavior may not make sense, but for MGM and Paramount, the death of their peers is more important than making money for themselves!

From their point of view, once Walt Disney is killed by Ethan Jones, they will be able to get a larger share of the movies and video games!

After this line of thinking comes up, their threats to North American theaters will not be as urgent as before. The one who will be really uncomfortable may be Warner Communications, which has been hiding its game projects and has not announced them yet!
Because only they knew that Ethan's shot might have missed the target!

As for Ethan——

"Sorry, I was blocking you!"

Thanks to [Xin Xinyi’s daddy] [I’m proud of being a scumbag] [ymgaaron] [Passing by the stars] [Book friend 20220314034451751] for the rewards in August. Thank you all for your votes. Thank you.

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(End of this chapter)