My absurd experiences in North America over the years

"I'm planning to acquire Miramax, the film studio Disney is selling. I'll send you the details to your email now," Li Fu said briefly.

Jackson paused for a moment, quickly reviewing the company's basic information in his mind. "The film company that makes movies like Pulp Fiction, The English Patient, and Kill Bill?"

This film company is not well-known in China, but it is quite famous in North America, otherwise Disney would not have offered 7 million.

"Yes, this is the one. There's no better place on the market right now," Li Fu said casually.

"Why did you suddenly decide to acquire an entertainment company?" Jackson asked curiously.

"Since the joint fund has now locked in medium- to long-term targets, I'm a bit bored and am preparing to bring my talents to the entertainment industry," Li Fu joked.

Of course, the joke about basketball superstar LeBron James bringing his talents to Miami won't come out for another year or so, and Jackson doesn't get his humor right now.

"Isn't Disney's offer of 700 million a bit too high?" Jackson looked through the documents Li Fu had sent him.

"I also think it's too high. I can consider it if the price is around 600 million. Why don't you guys try to negotiate the price down?" Li Fu didn't have the mind to negotiate with Disney. "If it works out, I'll invest 60% and take the lead in operation, and you can take 40% and share the profits."

He has too many things to do. If Disney doesn't sell, he'd rather just acquire a small company and start over.

When Jackson heard that the entertainment company wasn't so keen on the idea, he didn't immediately agree. He mentally calculated the feasibility of the proposal, asking, "What's your expected rate of return?"

"It's not about the rate of return. The benefits of this acquisition don't come from box office revenue. Miramax has the copyright library of more than 700 films, as well as a batch of novel copyrights," Li Fu said. How could he calculate any rate of return? "Disney didn't sell it because it wasn't profitable, but because it was inconsistent with Disney's future development direction."

"The key issue is that you've jumped too far," Jackson said, still a little worried. "If it were a business project or a financial investment, I'd jump on it immediately."

The acquisition of hundreds of millions of dollars is closely related to his performance. As long as he behaves himself and doesn't cause any trouble, it's a sure thing that he will take over the private banking division after his old boss retires in a few months.

Forrest Capital and its affiliates, which operate through JPMorgan Chase, significantly boosted his performance.

He didn't want any unexpected twists and turns in a matter that was set in stone.

Li Fu understood what the other party was thinking, and he didn't press the issue. "The range is indeed quite large. Think it over. If you decide to apply, call me back."

"Okay, thank you for your understanding, Mr. Li," Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. "Give me three days."

"OK, OK," Li Fu immediately hung up the phone.

Jackson's hesitation made him start to back down, as he wasn't really that reliant on Miramax's film library and book copyrights.

So he began to reanalyze the project.

Disney sold Miramax for a simple reason: it was critically acclaimed but commercially unsuccessful, and Miramax's production style conflicted with Disney's overall development direction.

During the financial crisis, Disney completed its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment and then began to scale back its business lines, focusing on projects that were more in line with its brand image.

Miramax became a "redundant" asset, so it was better to sell it directly and cash out.

Why would he want to aid the enemy at this point? Wouldn't it be better to let Miramax continue to hold Disney back?

Li Fu realized this and decided to look for another target, or simply establish a film production department within the Forum Press Group.

The following afternoon, Jackson suddenly called.

"Li, I have an even better project here. I wonder if you'd be interested?"

"What project?" Li Fu asked politely.

He currently has no interest in commercial projects.

"MGM is looking to be sold. They are now $37 billion in debt and on the verge of bankruptcy," Jackson said at an emergency meeting yesterday. No one was in favor of participating in the acquisition of Miramax.

There are too many geniuses who fail when they switch careers. Li Fu may be an invincible man on Wall Street, but he may just be an ordinary person in Hollywood.

Like Michael Jordan, he's a god in basketball, but in baseball he's just a nobody.

At the meeting, an executive from the private banking division quickly mentioned MGM.

Jackson believed that MGM's current debt was definitely cheap, and if Li Fu were to use a similar operation to control the Forum, spending six or seven hundred million, it was possible to eventually exchange the debt for equity.

Comparatively speaking, MGM is far more valuable than Miramax.

As the creator and witness of Hollywood's golden age, MGM owns the rights to 4,000 films and television series.

These copyrights include famous works such as Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, the James Bond series, RoboCop, Hannibal Lecter, Tomb Raider, and Legally Blonde, among others.

Of course, there's also the top-tier cartoon, Tom and Jerry.

In addition, it owns half of the copyright to The Hobbit.

While answering the phone, Li Fu searched for information about MGM on his computer. In comparison, Miramax was indeed far inferior.

JPMorgan Chase truly lives up to its reputation as a top-tier financial institution; its access to market information is exceptionally thorough.

Of course, there are risks involved in doing this.

With such a high level of debt, purchasing debt would inevitably require bankruptcy reorganization. If the reorganization fails or is prolonged, the losses would not only be a few hundred million dollars, but also involve immeasurable time costs.

"What is their current acquisition price?" Li Fu is not inclined to bankruptcy reorganization this time; he doesn't have that much time to wait.

"Warner Bros. was reportedly interested in a $15 billion acquisition, but MGM insisted on $20 billion," Jackson said. What Jackson actually wanted to lead was a debt acquisition, not a business acquisition.

Nearly two billion US dollars is too much; improper handling or bad luck could lead to losses.

"You want 20 billion?" Li Fu couldn't help but think it was a bit too far-fetched.

MGM is currently burdened with nearly 4 billion in debt. The acquisition cost 2 billion, but it still has to assume nearly 4 billion in debt, bringing the total cost close to 6 billion.

He's only temporarily residing in the entertainment industry; how can he not reach the heavens with 6 billion?

"Yes, they are determined to get 20 billion, and their attitude is very firm," Jackson nodded in response. It was precisely because of their firm attitude that he felt that acquiring the debt might be more appropriate.

"Can you get in touch with the person in charge of their sales business?" Li Fu decided to talk to them.

"Of course, we can act as a co-investor, or a financial advisor and channel partner, it depends on you," Jackson said, his attitude very polite as he needed to maintain Li Fu as a super client.

Li Fu thought for a moment before saying, "Then you, as the channel provider, can help me talk to them. I can inject capital into them in exchange for 60% of the debt, and also provide operating funds to help them turn around. If they turn a profit, the debt will be converted into equity. If they are interested, we can discuss it in detail. I can inject capital at any time."

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