My absurd experiences in North America over the years

When Pete heard that Li Fu wanted to meet with him, his heart skipped a beat.

Everyone in Hollywood knows who he is, how much capital he controls, and how famous he is for his extravagant spending.

Most importantly, he is now an investor in MGM, which has thousands of IP addresses in its inventory, so he can't easily refuse.

Finally, the two met at a private club.

When Li Fu first met this independent producer, he quickly discovered that the man was more shrewd than he had imagined, and that his Hollywood-style smile concealed a cautious probing.

Pete tentatively inquired whether they had come for the Warriors.

Based on his guess, someone of Li Fu's status would usually spend hundreds of millions at a time, so there was only one possibility for him to appear in a small city like Oakland: to acquire the Warriors team, which was up for sale.

Li Fu nodded frankly, then tentatively asked, "Is there any way to find out the current progress of the transaction?"

Pete remained silent for a moment, as if he was in a difficult position.

Li Fu then offered his bait: "I've always admired the films produced by Mr. Pitt. How about we collaborate on the next one? It will be distributed globally by MGM and promoted nationwide by Tribune."

This allure is irresistible to few independent filmmakers.

Moreover, Li Fu was already well-known.

Pete laughed immediately. "I know Mr. Li always keeps his word, but I must remind you, getting me on your side isn't enough; his main wife is someone else entirely..."

He was clever; the first half of his statement was an agreement to cooperate, while the second half subtly provided information.

In the context of the entire transaction, this information is completely irrelevant. The fact that he is not the main LP (limited partner) means that to cut off Lacob's funding chain, they would have to find someone else.

He hesitated at the end, as if there was something he couldn't say.

Li Fu guessed that Pete was worried that if he were to fully acquire the Warriors, he would not be able to own any shares in the team.

On the other hand, they also didn't want to offend Lacob and others.

"No one will know that we are meeting here. Besides, even if I can acquire the Warriors, your share will not change," he said bluntly, giving the other party a heads-up.

"If that's the case, you should meet with Cohan immediately," Pete finally put aside his concerns.

"Let me guess, Lacob's consortium probably doesn't have that much capital, does it?" Li Fu swirled his wine glass, his tone nonchalant. "Perhaps they need to defer some payments, or they need a loan?"

This is a common problem when small business owners acquire NBA teams.

Pete shrugged. "Mr. Li is a smart man. I didn't say those things."

Indeed, that's the case. Of Lacob's total capital of $4.5 million, $1.5 million had to be financed through loans, including $1.08 million from the NBA's credit line, while the remaining $4200 million had to be secured from commercial banks.

Li Fu didn't press for details, picked up his wine glass and took a sip, "Of course, our meeting was just to discuss film collaboration."

Reaching an agreement was not difficult for the two sides, and Pitt felt no guilt whatsoever, because doing so would maximize his benefits far more than cooperating with Lacob.

Whether it's Hollywood or the capital market, which one doesn't prioritize profit?

Besides, even if he didn't reveal this information, wouldn't Li Fu be able to find out? These things weren't exactly big secrets to begin with.

As they parted, Pete revealed the last bit of information: Cohan had never been very willing to sell the team to Ellison, and their only real opponent was the Lacob consortium, which wasn't exactly flush with cash.

Li Fu was in a hurry because when he met with Peter, Cohen had already verbally promised to sell to the Lacob Group.

The cash-strapped boss made his decision shortly after receiving the "explosive" offer.

The following morning, Li Fu met with Cohan on behalf of Forrest Capital.

He didn't choose to dismantle Lacob's LPs, as that would be too time-consuming and would require promising them exchange benefits, which would be too troublesome.

He decided to go straight to the heart of the matter, starting with Cohen's lack of funds.

Forrest Capital is definitely the most active and unique investment firm in the past two years.

So far, none of his investments have been unsuccessful, and every party involved in his investments has profited to varying degrees.

The benefits offered to LPs and partners are unmatched by other organizations.

Upon hearing the name Forrest Capital, Cohan agreed to the meeting almost immediately, choosing a private clubhouse in the dock area as the meeting place.

The clubhouse appeared ordinary on the surface, an old red brick building, but inside it was quite luxurious and offered excellent privacy.

When Li Fu arrived, Cohan was already sitting in the private room with an untouched cup of coffee in front of him.

This man, who has been cursed by Warriors fans in the Bay Area for over a decade, looks more haggard than in the photos; his gray hair is somewhat sparse, but his eyes are still sharp.

"Mr. Li," Cohan rose to greet him, and the two shook hands warmly. "Your assistant relayed that you wanted to discuss acquiring the Warriors?"

“That’s right,” Li Fu sat down opposite him and got straight to the point, “I know Lacob made you a limited-time offer, and I also know that Ellison has been eyeing this team, but Forrest Capital is the best buyer.”

"Oh, is that so?" Cohan was certainly interested. "Mr. Li, why don't you tell me more?"

"Mr. Cohan should have a tax dispute of 1.6 million, right? If an agreement is reached, I can lend you this money interest-free to settle the tax dispute," Li Fu said, throwing out his trump card. "The remaining money will be credited to your account as soon as the NBA league office approves it."

His biggest advantage is that he has ample cash flow, both in his personal account and in Forrest Capital's accounts.

At the same time, no individual or organization that buys the team will be willing to help Cohan resolve his troubles first.

The NBA league typically takes months to approve team purchase contracts, and Cohan really needed the money urgently. Dragging out tax disputes could land him in jail.

Upon hearing this, Cohan almost immediately stiffened, thinking he had misheard.

"You just said... you'd lend me money interest-free?"

"Yes," Li Fu nodded, "I have always believed in win-win cooperation. As long as we sign a formal contract, the money will be in my account immediately."

Cohan has no doubt that Forrest Capital has such financial resources; who in Hollywood and Silicon Valley in California doesn't know that now?

Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter are all angel investors, with Forrest Capital also involved, as are Hollywood's MGM and Time Warner.

None of the projects he has invested in have failed so far, and he has an excellent reputation for achieving win-win results with his partners.

"Did you buy the Warriors because you believe there's huge potential for growth in the sports industry, or because you think you can bring a championship to Oakland by controlling the Warriors?" Cohan asked the final question.

He had already agreed in his heart.

"Why can't we have both?" Li Fu shrugged.

The value of NBA teams will increase at a rate similar to that of the Rockets over the next ten years. This $4.5 million investment will soon become $100 billion, and they will certainly win championships in the future, and more than one.

“Then I want to retain five to ten percent of the shares,” Cohan said resolutely. “I have accomplished nothing in the past sixteen years and am regarded as a failure by this city. I want to win for once, instead of leaving in disgrace.”

He wanted to follow those who had never failed and wash away the shame together.