Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 271 The advantage is mine!

All along, Ethan thought ATV was an American company because in his previous life, Michael Jackson, an American, owned it. But after Steve Ballmer collected information about ATV as requested by Ethan, he realized that ATV was actually a foreign company.

ATV was founded in 1955 and its initial business was television broadcasting. In 1958, they extended their reach into the record industry. In 1966, they officially started publishing business and in 1969 they acquired Northern Music Publishers, which had published music for John Lennon and Paul McCarty.

At this point, ATV has truly become a force that cannot be ignored in the industry.

Because they hold almost all the music copyrights of John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

However, their success was met with the failure of their parent company.

In the mid-1970s, ATV's parent company fell into financial difficulties. The failed investments in the film department lowered the profits of the entire company, causing the stock price to plummet. Not only that, in 1977 and 1978, their TV department lost the government-granted license and could no longer broadcast TV dramas to the market. In order to maintain the stock price, they were considering cutting off their arms to survive. ATV's parent company ACC wanted to put ATV on the shelves.

That’s right, when Ethan asked about the ATV, the company was for sale.

Those who were interested in it included John Lennon and Paul McCartney. They wanted to get back the copyright of their songs, so they offered 21 million pounds.

And Columbia Music, they asked for £24 million;

In addition, London-based EMI, Warner Music controlled by Steve Ross, and Paramount's music company are all competitors in this transaction.

However, these people are only interested in the northern music under ATV.

All they wanted was the music rights to John Lennon and Paul McCarty.

But this is not in the interests of ATV's parent company ACC, because everyone knows that other copyrights in ATV are not valuable. Therefore, ACC directly rejected those people's offers.

When this fact came to light, all the bidders withdrew their bids, hoping to use the cold treatment approach to force ACC to split up and sell the ATV.

After all, it's a buyer's market now.

then……

Ethan Jones popped his head out of the dirt like a gopher and asked for the price.

"Boss, the current situation is very simple. As long as we are willing to swallow up the entire ATV, their parent company ACC will immediately start transaction negotiations..."

On the 6th, Ethan Jones returned to the company and received the report submitted by Steve Ballmer.

It clearly states ACC's demand, which is to sell the ATVs in a package. Their psychological price is 60 million pounds, which is about 73.8 million US dollars at the current exchange rate.

This price is obviously unreasonable.

Because when other companies offered ATV's most valuable asset, the Beatles' music, for more than 20 million pounds, the remaining bonus would never be sold for 30 million pounds!

So, when Ethan found out that ACC was asking for 60 million...

He then knew that he was being taken advantage of.

"This offer has no sincerity at all."

Ethan threw away the document and asked, "You came to talk about this project?"

"No, it was David Geffen who went." Ballmer shook his head and said, "This guy is very motivated now, as if he wants to show you some results right away. So..."

"He is still in London waiting for news."

"Really?" Ballmer's words made Ethan think of a picture.

It was a beach by the sea, and there was a little blond boy with his fists clenched.

Ethan could actually understand David Geffen's feelings at the moment. When a person has been suppressed by capitalists for several years and is unable to turn over, when they are reborn, they will naturally want to make a big move.

In that case——

"You have David Geffen deliver the message of quitting, and then keep an eye on ATV and ACC."

"If they lower the price, disclose their financials, or agree to our hiring a third-party auditor to conduct an on-site assessment and summarize the offer, we will choose to restart the negotiations."

"If they insist on the 60 million price, ignore them."

"Then, my psychological price is 50 million US dollars."

“The price also includes all costs involved in the transaction.”

"David Geffen has no right to negotiate above this price. However, if we finally get ATV and the purchase price is less than 50 million, then the remaining US dollars will be David's bonus."

The agency acquisition plan proposed by Ethan is actually the most common entrustment method in business, because all business acquisitions have only one purpose, which is to bring more market share to the company or obtain new profit growth points. In this case, no one will do business at a loss.

Therefore, setting an acquisition cap and promising a difference bonus can effectively balance the interests of all parties and allow the transaction to proceed smoothly.

As for whether the trustee might ruin the transaction because the difference is too small?
Of course there is.

Therefore, when companies set a budget cap, they will allow an appropriate amount of fluctuation in their psychological price so that the client can obtain some considerable profits.

For example, when John Lennon and Paul McCartney offered 21 million pounds for the copyright of their music, ATV was worth 40 million pounds in Ethan's mind. Converted into US dollars, it was only 48 million, and the remaining 2 million was the specific amount of the bonus.

If David Geffen can get more, that's his thing.

If he fails to gain anything, it means he is not capable enough.

When the strategic investment of subsidiaries of subsidiaries requires the boss of the parent company to personally participate...

There was no way this guy was going to hold down the CEO position at Destiny Music.

Ballmer also understood this and nodded to express his understanding.

"Okay boss, I understand."

With Ethan's wave, Ballmer also left his boss's office. A few hours later, David Geffen in London sent a notice to ATV's parent company ACC, withdrawing their acquisition intention.

Ethan's giving up made the few families watching around him feel relieved.

Because now they are really afraid that Ethan will do something wrong.

It is true that Ethan lost money from reckless acquisitions, but at the same time, his behavior of spending money would also increase the valuations of other companies in the industry, which is very disadvantageous for giants who want to expand.

While the onlookers were relaxed, Ethan's behavior was also recorded by PolyGram. When Philips learned that his old rival Ethan Jones had actually started buying music copyrights, the big stone that had been hanging in their hearts finally fell.

"So, judging from the current situation, Ethan Jones's digital disc project doesn't seem to be going well? If it was going well, then Ethan Jones wouldn't have purchased music copyrights on the market."

Even though it's the weekend, Philips' headquarters is still very busy.

No one dared to be absent from the meeting chaired by the chairman himself, and the content of their discussion...

That's why Ethan Jones suddenly started acquiring music copyrights.

In their view, Ethan Jones's behavior was sending a signal to the outside world that his research and development was not going well. If Ethan Jones already had a product and was far ahead, he could have directly shown his charm to the world, just like Johnson's home console last winter, which shocked the world with one move.

But now, Ethan Jones did not hold any product launch conferences, nor did he release some eye-catching disc players. Not only that, he also joined the teams of Philips and Sony, wanting to enrich the copyright library of his own music company starting from the music content.

When the arrogant opponent starts to go his own way...

Then everyone’s progress should be the same, right?
"I think we can take the initiative to communicate with Sony." An old white man pushed his glasses on the bridge of his nose and said, "Since Ethan Jones is unwilling to join the alliance proposed by Sony, let him play alone. We will set a standard with Sony and then cooperate in research and development." "We will try to make the product in one to two years."

"When we launch digital discs and have the largest library of music copyrights in the world..."

"The remaining companies will naturally know what to choose."

"Without any musical experience, Ethan Jones will definitely be defeated by us!"

"And after his loss, we had the opportunity to pick up the console again."

This proposal was highly endorsed by other executives present.

And when they turned their attention to the chairman and CEO of the group sitting in the first seat...

The old man who combed his hair back pondered for a while and said, "We need to be more low-key and steady this time, because we have all come to the edge of the cliff and we can no longer afford to lose."

"So, my idea is to communicate with Sony first to confirm whether they have revolutionary technology. If they do, we will immediately start cooperation and set standards. If not, we must guard against Sony and never let them cheat us out of the patent."

"Because we are both allies and enemies."

"And this time, we can only succeed, not fail."

"Okay?"

"Okay!"

When Philips made the judgment that Ethan and I were evenly matched, Sony and Akio Morita also called in Norio Ohga and passed on the news of the transaction between Columbia Records and Destiny Music that had not yet been made public.

When Norio Ohga discovered that Ethan Jones, who had been so arrogant in front of him before, not only secretly bought the popular young star Michael Jackson from Columbia Records, but also wanted to get his hands on Columbia Records' cash cow Barbra Streisand...

A hint of excitement suddenly appeared on his face!
"President! I think I understand why Ethan Jones doesn't want to join our alliance!"

"Because according to current scientific research habits, when all technology alliances are formed, the teams or companies that want to join must disclose the technologies they have mastered to the outside world!"

"Ethan Jones should know that his technology is far behind ours. After he makes it public, not only will he not be able to enter the alliance, but we will even try our best to block him. That's why he chose to bluff!"

"He wants to use his tough attitude to make us think he is powerful!"

"He wants to make us feel that his product has taken shape by shouting at the top of his lungs!"

"But in fact he has nothing!"

"That's why I can't wait to set up my own music company!"

"They even spend a lot of money to poach people!"

Norio Ohga felt that he had sensed the truth of the matter!

As for Akio Morita...

At this moment, he was as calm as water.

He looked at Norio Ohga, whom he had personally recruited into the company, with a serious expression on his face, and said, "But Nintendo's president Hiroshi Yamauchi didn't say that. When I was communicating with Yamauchi before, he said that in his game with Ethan Jones, he found that Ethan Jones never fought a battle without preparation."

"Since he has already made his move, he must be sure of winning."

"so--"

"Can Destiny Music's poaching of Ethan Jones be interpreted as a sign that his digital CD is already a mature product? They can launch it on the market right away?"

This line of thought made Ohga Norio frown, because what Morita Akio said made sense.

But soon, he shook his head with a determined look.

"President, Yamauchi Hiroshi must be frightened by Ethan Jones."

"There's no way the game of fate can be this powerful."

"Although Ethan Jones has been winning before, when we look back at all his success stories, we can find a very serious problem: Ethan Jones's wins were only in the gaming industry."

"Video games are a new industry. Everyone starts from the same starting line. When no company has its own foundation, excellent creativity is the magic weapon for success."

"But now, he is entering a red ocean market."

"Music is an industry that has existed for many years. People will not choose a device because it is particularly easy to use. People will only choose a device that is easy to use because certain music sounds particularly good."

"In this case, if Ethan Jones does not have leading technology, cannot be the first to launch his products, cannot obtain content barriers, and cannot cultivate user usage habits, then..."

"He will definitely lose!"

"That's why he is so crazy about poaching people now."

"Because he knows that there is no such thing as a permanently reliable partner in this world."

“The only thing a company can believe in is itself.”

"Now, if we work together with Philips and eliminate him, we will have a great chance of defeating him, especially since Columbia Records has been annoyed by him..."

Ohga Norio looked serious.

His words also made Akio Morita nod his head.

Before this, he had already supported Norio Ohga to continue research and development.

And now, with Ethan Jones showing his weakness, he felt even more confident.

"Find an opportunity to get in touch with Philips."

After a moment's silence, Morita Akio said, "But this time they must come forward to beg us."

"Although we were the first to propose the alliance, there are still levels among the allies."

“Even if we cooperate, we have to take the initiative.”

"Because after defeating Ethan Jones, Philips is our enemy."

"Okay, President, I understand." Ohga Norio replied with an excited smile.

At this moment he felt...

The advantage is mine!

Note: ① In reality, MJ acquired ATV in 85, but the tug-of-war over this deal lasted for 69 years. Since , John Lennon and McCartney wanted to buy back the music copyright from ATV, but ATV refused. When ACC's financial situation exploded in the late s, they wanted to buy back the copyright, but ATV refused again. In and , a bunch of companies had already chased for it, but they failed to reach an agreement on the price. In , ACC encountered a hostile takeover by Australia's first billionaire, and ATV's transaction was forced to suspend. It was not until the other party completed the acquisition that ATV's transaction resumed, and it was at this time that MJ entered the market. The reason why MJ was able to buy ATV was simple. He was not the highest bidder among all the people, but he was the fastest to pay because the Australian tycoons at that time were acquiring BHP Billiton and Texaco, and he only wanted cash and the sooner the better. MJ sent the money directly to Australia and signed the contract with him.

PS1, the contract price of MJ in the previous chapter was calculated based on the average value of singers of that era. Take Northern Music, which owns the copyrights of most of John Lennon’s songs written in this chapter. This company was only worth more than million pounds at the time. I think it is not cheap for a not-so-hot MJ to spend million to buy a four-year contract.

PS2, the nd chapter of this volume has already mentioned that Columbia and Goldman Sachs signed a contract. I mentioned it again in the previous chapter. I remembered it wrong. I remembered it as Embassy Pictures. This is a BUG. I am very sorry. I wrote it wrong.

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(End of this chapter)