Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 306 The Counterattack of the 'Little Man'
While Cornelis was opening the mysterious note, at Paramount's headquarters in California, Chairman Barry Diller was also looking through the documents submitted by his subordinate Michael Eisner.

As all parties knew, Sega wanted to reach a cooperation agreement with Paramount, borrow Paramount's video game patents, and sell the popular games born in Neon to North America.

Perhaps because they all have the same father, Sega's offer was very wild. They were willing to give up 7% of their sales as Paramount's agency fee in exchange for Paramount's distribution. At the same time, they also hoped that Paramount could share all the distribution costs with them.

When this fact came to light, Barry Diller's eyebrows immediately raised.

Because a simple calculation will show that Sega's offer is insincere.

According to Sega's algorithm, assuming that "Godzilla" sold 10,000 units in North America and the revenue reached 200 million, the commission attributable to Paramount would only be 14 million.

No matter who evaluates it, they will feel that this income is pitifully small. What is even more speechless is that Sega said that both parties will bear the sales expenses in half. Assuming that this expense is 10 million, after deducting 5 million, the profit that actually belongs to Paramount is only 9 million.

A project worth 200 million yuan, but the profit is only 9 million?

A profit margin of 4.5 is an insult to Paramount!
But if we calculate based on the cost-benefit principle, a cost of five million in exchange for a profit of nine million?

In the sales agency business, this is simply stupid behavior!

After all, the main business of these Hollywood giants is film distribution!
In this ecosystem, their extraction is at least 20%!

"Sega is crazy?"

"They don't think the earth revolves around them, do they?"

Barry Diller threw the document in his hand casually, tapped the table with his right index finger, and said, "If possible, I really want to communicate with Sega up close now."

"One On One!"

"I wonder, do they think I, Barry Diller, am such a fool?"

"ah?!!!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Barry Diller banged the table unusually loudly.

Michael Eisner, who witnessed it all, had a smile on his face.

He could understand his boss's feelings at the moment.

Because Barry Diller's achievements in the business field are so remarkable.

At the age of 23, he became the vice president of development of the American Broadcasting Corporation. At the age of 24, he proposed the concept of television mini-series and television movies, and used innovative series to defeat his peers. At the age of 32, he was invited to join Paramount and became the chairman and CEO of Paramount.

Then...

In television, he produced “Laverne and Shirley” and “Taxi.”

In terms of movies, he invested in "Saturday Night Fever" and "Grease".

When his record is so strong and unrivaled, it is normal for him to look down on others!

In this case, when Barry Diller found out that Sega had no sincerity...

Swearing is the norm.

Gentle, that's an accident.

“Maybe Sega made this offer because they think we are eager for the video game industry?”

Michael Eisner began to help his boss find reasons why Sega was going crazy.

This remark made Barry Diller roll his eyes at him.

"Hmph..." The middle-aged man said with a nasal sound, "Does desire mean giving up profits?"

"If that's the case, then there would be no difficult business in the world!"

"Michael, you have to know that the more people desire, the more they will pursue!"

Michael Eisner nodded repeatedly at his boss's dissatisfied words.

After thinking for two seconds, he made up for Sega: "Barry, there is another possibility. The failure of Jack the Ripper made Sega feel that we at Paramount don't have the ability to develop video games?"

"So, when we have a video game license, if we want to maximize the utility of this patent, the best way is to represent the game?"

"And now, the most suitable game to be represented is Godzilla?"

"..." Barry Diller was speechless and shook his head, "Oh, Michael, we at Paramount don't have the ability to develop video games? Do you believe this?"

"The failure of Jack the Ripper has nothing to do with the quality of the game itself."

"It was simply that the public opinion after the game was released was not in our favor, and Ethan Jones officially announced his work during the period when we released the game, which attracted a lot of people's attention."

"But even so, we have gained a lot!"

"So, your guess is not true!"

Although Michael Eisner had achieved the double rejection level in just a few minutes, he was not angry. Instead, he looked at the Boss with a smile.

Staring at the angry face, Michael Eisner said, "Barry, if you think that the two guesses just now are not true, then it can only prove one thing. Sega's current behavior has been instructed by certain people. Those people agreed with Sega to do this, so Sega dared to do this..."

Michael Eisner's words may be a little profound to ordinary people.

But after hearing these words, Barry Diller suddenly became serious.

He understood what Michael Eisner meant.

The people this guy was talking about were actually Paramount's parent company -

Gulf and Western Industries.

The history of Gulf and Western Industries can be traced back to the Michigan Insurance Lever Company in the 1930s. After a series of mergers and acquisitions, it was officially established in 1956.

The company's initial business projects were manufacturing and resource mining, but everyone knows that the money earned from industry will never be as much as that from finance, so since 1958, when an entrepreneur named Charles Bluedorn officially took over the company, they have been running wild in the investment industry. If you have to describe it, their operating method is very similar to that of Berkshire Hathaway.

The only difference is that Berkshire Hathaway's boss Warren Buffett is into value investing, while Gulf and Western Industries controlled by Charles Bluedorn is into diversified operations involving large-scale acquisitions similar to that of Wolf King Carl Icahn, but with milder means.

The specific operation method is very simple. They find a good company to acquire it, and try to operate it after taking control. If they can make a profit, they will hold it for a long time. If it is difficult to make a profit, they will split or merge the company's valuable assets to seek a large amount of cash.

Because only in this way can they obtain new capital and continue to acquire other companies.

When the entire set of processes became extremely clear, their original purpose of acquiring Paramount and Sega became very clear. These two companies were underestimated high-quality assets at the time. As long as they could be revitalized, they would be able to generate huge profits. At the same time, movies and arcades both represented huge cash flows. Once the rescue was successful, they would be able to provide more acquisition capital to Gulf and Western Industries.

This is indeed the case. The emergence of video games made Gulf and Western Industries feel that Sega had the potential to become a huge hit, and Paramount's turnaround also made Gulf and Western Industries see the beauty of the US dollar.

When the main businesses of Paramount and Sega were both related to entertainment, Gulf and Western Industries wanted to merge them directly and re-list them in order to make more money.

But before they could turn their idea into reality, they just found the heads of the two companies and had a brief talk with them, and the whole thing instantly reached a deadlock. Regardless of whether it was Paramount or Sega, they all thought that Gulf and Western Industries' proposal was good, but the two sides were full of differences on the specific matters of the merger.

Barry Diller, who controls Paramount, thinks that Paramount is a world-renowned brand, so after the merger, the new company must still be called Paramount. Sega, on the other hand, thinks that they are the boss of the entertainment industry because they can sell arcade machines all over the world, so even if they want to merge with Paramount, they must take the initiative.

When these disputes arose, the merger could not proceed.

But even so, things are still not over, because...

"Gulf and Western Industries' proposal gave Sega the idea of ​​swallowing up Paramount."

"At the same time, Paramount also wants to bring Sega into the fold and fully absorb it, because they feel that this will allow them to better conduct overseas business, such as film distribution."

"After all, Paramount is not as good as Sega in overseas expansion."

“Especially the neon market aspect.”

"When Paramount and Sega had different ideas, the merger came to a standstill..." When Ron Miller told the information he knew, Cornellis' eyes widened immediately after reading the contents of the paper. Although he knew that Paramount and Sega had a bad relationship and that Paramount wanted to acquire Sega, he never thought that the two companies would be so incompatible?

And when Sega and Paramount have the idea of ​​merging with each other, how should they cooperate now?
They all have their own ulterior motives, so there is no way they can cooperate!

Because bringing the game to North America is not just a collaboration for them, it is also a test for the parent company!

If Sega has the upper hand in the cooperation, it means that they have the initiative in the merger, and their parent company Gulf and Western Industries will feel that Sega may become a future group brand.

vice versa.

If Paramount prevailed, the leaders of Gulf and Western Industries would feel that Paramount had won the merger and Barry Diller would become chairman of the new company.

When this confrontation occurred, Cornelis knew there was a lot to be done with this case!

For example, when Paramount rejected Sega's proactive offer and put forward its own demands, Sega, who felt that the demands were excessive, could have looked for other partners.

They can do it themselves!

Because there are currently six companies in North America that can undertake distribution, namely Philips, Atari, Destiny, Paramount, MGM and Disney...

and many more!

Are there six companies in North America that can undertake the issuance?

Does this include Atari?
Thinking of this, Cornelis's expression suddenly changed!
"Ron..." He called out Ron Miller's name, "Tell me, is the reason why Steve Ross asked me to restrain myself because he wants to get involved in this business?"

These words made Ron Miller laugh.

"Oh Cone, are you finally realizing this?"

"If Warner can cooperate with Sega, their gaming business will be able to reach a new level."

"Also, they can escape from future encirclement and suppression."

"I think you understand what I mean, right?"

Cornelis certainly understood what Ron Miller meant!
Because at this moment, only Atari needs Sega's games the most!

When Steve Ross wanted to use the garbage sea tactic to directly destroy the North American game market, his desire for the video game industry was visible to the naked eye!
In this situation, he must have thought about how to restore the North American people's confidence in the entire video game industry after destroying the entire North American game market.

Since this thing is a fight for the future, Steve Ross can't say it, and no one else can ask, so no one knows, but now...

Ah--

Steve Ross is such a vicious person!

If this guy wants to cooperate with Sega, he must be thinking that it is too difficult to reshape a country's market, so introducing imported games can seize the initiative during the market reconstruction period!
After all, it’s not the global video game market that they want to destroy!
While North America is being defeated, the rampantly developing Neon will surely prosper!
After the failure of Destiny and the loss of trust in local games by North Americans, the best solution was to quickly fill the gap with foreign games.

And what if before this, some companies had already introduced foreign games to North America?

Then it will be easier for them to gain the trust of the North American people!

This trust can enable them to earn a large amount of revenue in a short period of time. At the same time, this persistent image-saving approach will help them sell their self-developed games better!

As for what to say, Steve Ross's actions are likely to expose his true purpose?
Ah--

There is no wall that is impenetrable. No one believes that Ethan Jones will be kept in the dark by them!
In this case, taking the initiative to make money is the right thing to do!

How can conspiracies and loopholes be as real as money?

When this speculation came up, Cornelis finally understood why Steve Ross was so excited when he was communicating with him that day!

"He doesn't care about the negotiations between Sega and Paramount!"

"Because he knows that the conflict between the two families makes it impossible for them to unite!"

"He's just afraid that I will come forward on behalf of Philips and reach a cooperation with Sega!"

"Because it would ruin his plan!"

Cornelis's extremely serious shouting made Ron Miller laugh, and as he looked relieved, Cornelis asked again: "Ron, I have another question."

"You said."

"I want to know, why is the merger between Sega and Paramount so difficult?"

Cornelis's face was serious. "Isn't Gulf and Western Industries their parent company? Why does a parent company need the approval of its branch company to do something?"

"Oh... Cone... this question is very simple..."

Ron Miller smiled and said, "Because Gulf and Western Industries is a qualified financial capitalist, the main purpose of their wanton acquisitions is not to split and sell, but to operate for a long time. Only by managing these properties well, they will not encounter more obstacles in future acquisitions..."

“For example, the company they acquired last year was Simmons?”

“Furniture services, industrial manufacturing, and gaming and movies are totally unrelated industries, right? But it is precisely because the employees of those acquired companies know that Gulf & Western Industries is a boss who respects employees that those employees will continue to work for them.”

“And where does the reputation of a good boss come from?”

"Isn't it the result of tolerance time and time again?"

Cornelis understood.

At the same time, he also knew that he didn't have much time left.

"I'll go back and quote now!"

"MFxxk!"

"I can't let that bastard Steve Ross succeed!"

The sudden decision made Ron Miller smile from ear to ear.

When he hugged Cornelis goodbye, the smile on his face was even harder to suppress than AK's.

Shortly after Ron Miller flew back to Los Angeles, he heard some news.

1. Paramount President Michael Eisner said in an interview with the media that they are willing and hope to cooperate with Sega to bring excellent foreign games to the North American continent, but the two sides have not reached a unified consensus on the specific details, so the negotiations are still under discussion.

However, even though there are major differences between the two parties, Michael Eisner is still confident that he can reach a cooperation with Sega in a short period of time and let the North American people feel the charm of "Godzilla" as soon as possible.

Second, Atari has taken the initiative to contact Sega and is willing to contribute to the sales of Sega games in North America. Atari's CEO stated at a media conference that Japan is currently the second largest consumer of electronic games in the world. As the output value of their games continues to soar, synchronous production becomes inevitable. They are very happy to bring good games from other countries to North America so that people can enjoy more happiness.

3. Shortly after Atari sent out the invitation for cooperation, the CEO of MILO flew to Los Angeles on a chartered plane and had a cordial meeting with the chairman of Sega to discuss the agency. At the same time, MILO's spokesperson also said that it is their wish to promote the better and faster development of the global electronic game industry. They also believe that this situation is the future that all game developers want to see, because -

"Professor Ralph Baer, ​​the pioneer of the video game industry and the inventor of the home console, and Ethan Jones, the most outstanding game designer at the moment, have made public statements many times, saying that the greatest significance of video games is to bring happiness to the public."

"This is their code of conduct, and also the development creed of our Miluohua..."

When this information appeared in black and white in front of Ron Miller...

The unbridled laughter resounded through the sky.

Looking at the iron reality, he murmured: "Steve Ross..."

"You want to monopolize the entire market?"

"Heh - I told you this, we'll see!"

Note: ① Gulf & Western Industries is an investment group with a very strange operation mode. Unlike Berkshire Hathaway, which has insurance business and Carl Icahn's fund, which can allocate a large amount of junk bonds, Gulf & Western Industries' cash flow is obtained by the operating income of its companies and the pledge of shares, so it is very dependent on the good operation of its subsidiaries. Therefore, the CEOs of each subsidiary have great power. Although this company was dismantled in the last century because the investment model without a stable cash cow was too troublesome, in the 1960s and 1970s, their strength was still very strong. Automobiles, auto parts, electronic games, movies and televisions, furniture and supplies, and even Comrade Jianguo's hotel in New York were held by them for a long time.

PS, the patient has been discharged from the hospital and everything is fine. Thank you all for your blessings and thank you all for your rewards and votes. Thank you very much.

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(End of this chapter)