Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 295 A Useless Person Who Has Lost Trust

By mid-September, Aaron had returned to Los Angeles, USA.

In Burbank, in the conference room of Dawn's headquarters, Aaron and a group of senior executives held a meeting and expressed their idea of ​​acquiring the MCA Group!
Aaron looked at CFO Jessica Parker, "I'm planning to commission Blackstone Group to acquire Panasonic's MCA Global on behalf of Dawn."

"Next, you will be based in New York to work with Blackstone to assess the value of MCA, as well as to contact investment banks and funds on Wall Street. Dawn needs a lot of financial support."

Jessica Parker nodded. "That's not a big problem. Salomon Brothers, Chase Manhattan, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and other banks have always been optimistic about Dawn."

“We can certainly seek funding from MCA for this acquisition.”

Aaron tapped the table. "Well, Dawn's acquisition of MCA also has competitors. Edgar Bronfman Jr. of the Seagram Group is eager to enter the entertainment industry."

"Michael Ovitz of CAA previously recommended Time Warner to him, and now he wants to promote Seagram's MCA."

"Whether Dawn can leap to become a major force in Hollywood depends on this, everyone!"

When Panasonic acquired MCA a few years ago, it spent $65 billion. After operating it for several years, Panasonic suffered huge losses.
However, the value of MCA now is certainly not lower than its previous price, but it's hard to say how much it has increased. It still needs to be valued by all parties, which will take time.

Meanwhile, Forrest Gump's North American box office surpassed $2.5 million, and The Mask's North American box office also surpassed $1 million;
The wildly popular "Pulp Fiction" has grossed over $2300 million at the North American box office in just ten days!
Just a few days after Aaron returned to Los Angeles, the newspapers reported that Jeffrey Katzenberg had left Disney;

Because of Jeffrey Katzenberg's leadership of Disney Animation's success, his departure immediately became sensational news in Hollywood.

That evening, at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in West Hollywood, Aaron met with Lou Wasserman, Chairman and CEO of the MCA Group, and Sidney Sheinberg, President and Chief Operating Officer!
Lou Wasserman, a veteran Hollywood entertainment mogul and former agent, possesses vast political resources.

"Aaron, Panasonic's offer for MCA will not be less than $65 billion."

"If you really want to acquire it, you must raise this huge sum of money as soon as possible!"

Lou Wasserman disliked Michael Ovitz very much, as Ovitz was determined to sell MCA to Seagram.

As someone outside Hollywood, Aaron Anderson, being an industry insider, was more likely to gain Lou Wasserman's favor.

Aaron smiled. "As for funding, there's not much to worry about; I'm confident. However, Edgar Bronfman Jr. of the Seagram Group seems quite aggressive about entering the entertainment industry."

“We all know that Seagram is a major shareholder of DuPont, and Edgar Bronfman Jr. has already announced that he will sell DuPont stock to acquire a Hollywood studio!”

Aaron's idea was simple: he could acquire the MCA Group, but he couldn't engage in endless bidding wars.

Lou Wasserman and Sidney Schirenberg exchanged a glance. "While we're optimistic about you, Panasonic is ultimately in charge, and price is the key factor."

Aaron frowned immediately. Lou Wasserman and Sidney Heinberger bear a heavy responsibility for the huge losses MCA Global has suffered in recent years.

Now that Dawning wants to acquire MCA, Aaron needs tangible support, not just verbal promises.

Looking at the two Jewish guys, I said, "You two are aware of MCA Universal's current predicament. You don't really believe that a good-for-nothing rich kid would be capable of managing and running a long-established Hollywood studio, do you?"

"Isn't the lesson from MGM profound enough?" Isn't it enough to make MGM Studios look bad enough after being ruined by Las Vegas casino tycoon Kirk Koccorian?
Watching Lou Wasserman and Sidney Sheemberg walk away, Aaron picked up his glass, took a sip, and sighed, "Two good-for-nothings!"

Aaron could clearly sense that Lou Wasserman and Sidney Heinberger had lost Matsushita's trust;

Yoichi Morishita is not Akio Tanii. Even if Panasonic doesn't sell MCA, it probably won't be long before they replace these two.

A short while later, Aaron also left the hotel and arrived at Benedict Canyon in Beverly Hills, Jennifer Connelly's villa...

Meanwhile, Michael Ovitz arrived at a seaside villa in Malibu and met with Edgar Bronfman Jr.

"Aaron Anderson?"

Edgar Bronfman Jr., sitting on the sofa, was still quite surprised when he heard that Aaron Anderson's Dawn Group was going to acquire MCA.

"Isn't Shuguang Group a relatively new company that's only been established for a few years? How could it possibly acquire a company the size of MCA Global?"

Michael Ovitz nodded. "Dawn's valuation is not low; based on Dawn Films' annual profits, it's definitely extremely high."

"Moreover, Dawn's financial situation is excellent, and Wall Street has great confidence in Dawn. If Aaron wants to acquire MCA, he will have a lot of support."

Edgar Bronfman Jr. frowned. "Now I also need to convince my father to agree to sell DuPont stock to raise funds."

“Otherwise, Scragran doesn’t have the money, and my uncle is also firmly against it.”

As he spoke, Edgar Bronfman Jr. rubbed his forehead. Compared to his father, dealing with his uncle was definitely more difficult!
Michael Ovitz was thinking hard. The Seagram Group originally belonged to the Bronfman family. Now that Edgar Bronfman Jr. was in charge, he believed it wouldn't be too difficult for him to persuade the family members.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. needs time now.

"Panasonic's valuation of MCA won't happen so quickly; Shuguang Group made quite a few big moves last year."

"Acquiring the copyright library of Samuel G. Gowin's films and the Orion film franchise, building a new headquarters building in New York, and Aaron also allocated funds to build the Dawn Center Arena in Houston, etc."

“I believe that Dawn doesn’t have much cash flow right now, and Aaron Anderson’s focus is still on seeking support from banks and investment funds!”

Michael Ovitz said, glancing at Edgar Bronfman Jr., "Siglen's advantage is simply cash flow."

Negotiations with banks and investment funds take a lot of time; it's not as quick as Scragran selling stocks for cash.

Over the years, the biggest source of income for the Seagram Group has been the dividends from the DuPont stock it owns.
DuPont stock is highly sought after and can be sold at any time.

Edgar Bronfman Jr. nodded. "Keep an eye on Dawn and Aaron Anderson's moves."

(End of this chapter)