My absurd experiences in North America over the years

In mid-November in Los Angeles, the sea breeze, carrying a cool breeze, swept across the Malibu coast, dispelling the last traces of autumn heat.

Inside the Malibu mountain villa overlooking the sea, the flames of the fireplace danced in the living room, casting long, thin shadows of the two people.

Taylor Swift curled up in the soft leather sofa, wearing a beige knit sweater, her eyes darting across the TV screen, where the financial news channel was rolling out the box office success of "Skyfall".

The film grossed $9000 million in its opening week in North America and over $5 million worldwide (the North American release was delayed by two weeks).

Taylor Swift stared at the numbers, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the hair Li Fu was resting on her head, a faint worry lingering between her brows.

Gaddafi was confirmed dead on October 20, and the smoke of the Arab Spring finally dissipated after nearly a month.

This means that once the situation in the Middle East stabilizes, the Democrats can finally get around to doing what they've always wanted to do.

The night outside the window was dark, and the distant sound of the Pacific Ocean's waves could be faintly heard.

Li Fu opened his eyes, his gaze reflecting the flickering firelight.

"Aren't you at all concerned about the box office of the 007 movie, being so calm?" Taylor Swift lowered her head slightly.

Li Fu took her hand in return, the cool touch coming through his palm. "Don't worry, my sweetheart, MGM has won the battle to turn things around. It's only a matter of time before 007's global box office surpasses one billion."

The first Hobbit movie is also expected to perform well during the Christmas season.

Of course, he wasn't completely indifferent; he was just very certain that both films had already been proven true in his previous life.

Once The Hobbit finishes its run, the two films that grossed over a billion dollars each, plus Hacksaw Ridge, will be enough for MGM to turn a profit.

According to the previous agreement, he will eventually acquire 60% of MGM's shares, becoming the majority shareholder.

Taylor Swift's eyelashes trembled slightly as she looked down at him. "But I always feel a little... uneasy."

She sighed softly, her fingertips tracing the folds of his shirt collar. The man resting his head on her lap was no longer the small business owner he had been in Nashville three or four years ago.

Back then, with a net worth of tens of millions, you were still in a small town, and nobody cared.

Now that the tree is tall, it attracts the wind; surely some people will be envious.

Will the transfer of 60% of MGM's shares really be completed smoothly?

Just then, the firewood in the fireplace crackled and popped, and the flames suddenly blazed, reflecting the worry deep in her eyes.

Li Fu closed his eyes, hugged her soft waist, took a deep breath, and said, "Don't worry! Don't always worry about me. What's coming will come, but I'm prepared."

The Pacific Ocean glowed faintly under the night sky, and the sound of the waves grew clearer.

There are always undercurrents in this world.

But so what?

The enemy has already missed the opportune moment to plunge him into the abyss; future opportunities will only become increasingly slim.

Taylor Swift pulled his head into her arms and didn't say anything more.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away in Manhattan, New York, a Goldman Sachs representative was plotting something in a Blackstone Group conference room.

The meeting room doors and windows were tightly closed, and the air was almost still.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows lies the dazzling night view of Wall Street, but inside, a tense, almost stagnant atmosphere permeates the space.

Goldman Sachs representative Joshua tossed a document onto the table, the pages rustling. "MGM's debt crisis has been resolved. If the equity transfer goes smoothly, Li Fu will acquire 60% of the shares. We have to do something."

Blackstone Capital is the world’s largest private equity firm, with $1662 billion in assets under management.

In 2011, which is about to end, the company completed $200 billion in mergers and acquisitions.

Strictly speaking, they had no conflict with Li Fu.

In business terms, private equity (PE) can be simply understood as the business of buying an entire company with high leverage, restructuring it, and then selling it at a higher price.

To use a somewhat inappropriate analogy, it would be like spending 100 million to buy an old, dilapidated, small school district property (acquiring a target company).

However, he only made a down payment of 30 yuan, and the other 70 yuan was borrowed from the bank (for leveraged acquisition).

After buying a school district property, spend another 20 yuan to renovate the house and replace the furniture with high-end furniture (post-investment management and value appreciation).

Wait a year or two until the house appreciates to 200 million, then sell it (exit the transaction) and use the money to repay the bank's 70 principal and interest.

After deducting the cost price and renovation expenses, what's left is the profit.

Private equity is Blackstone's core business, while Li Fu is doing something completely unrelated.

However, Blackstone Capital's business is expanding year by year, and in the private lending market, they, like Goldman Sachs, are having their business space squeezed by JPMorgan Chase.

At the same time, they are also part of Jewish capital.

Unfortunately, JPMorgan Chase is technically part of Onsa Capital.

Hill, Blackstone's chief strategist, sneered, "You need a reason to get us to work with you, right?"

He is also the CEO of Blackstone Alternative Asset Management.

"Do you remember Mr. Goldstein?" Joshua brought up a Blackstone Capital limited partner (LP) who was assassinated five years ago.

Hill's sneer faded, and he asked seriously, "What does he have to do with this?"

He had no idea what Goldstein had done as a political broker; those shady dealings would never be made public.

“I’ve received some information that Goldstein met with Li Fu before his death, and that Li Fu went to Nashville after Goldstein’s assassination and quickly rose to prominence,” Joshua said, looking at Hill. “Isn’t that too much of a coincidence?”

"Li Fu's rapid rise to power is due to his almost prophetic foresight," Hill shook his head. "It's not surprising that the Forrest family transferred him to Nashville, is it?"

He thought it was probably just a coincidence. Wasn't Li Fu just helping Cole manage a wine company in Los Angeles?

When Forrest Capital recognized Li Fu's exceptional insight, they transferred him to Nashville to begin his career in financial investment.

Logically, there's nothing wrong with that.

Even if it wasn't a coincidence, so what?

What do these prove?

Goldstein is just a limited partner at Blackstone Capital, which has dozens of limited partners, so they don't have a particularly deep relationship.

Competing with Li Fu and JPMorgan Chase for the sake of a deceased limited partner, and even offending them, would be a losing proposition.

"What if we also take control of MGM?" Joshua was clearly prepared.

"What do you mean?" Hill asked, intrigued.

MGM is not a bad asset now; they will soon turn a profit. If they can get a share of the pie, earning hundreds of millions of dollars shouldn't be a problem.

"If we promise MGM's original shareholders that we will retain their 50% stake after the takeover, and then inject an additional $100 million in restructuring funds, some of them will be willing to risk delaying the equity transfer process."

Joshua threw out the most important bait.

If Li Fu's equity transfer agreement takes effect, then the original shareholders will only have 40% left.

If Goldman Sachs and Blackstone were to take over, they could retain 50% of the equity. For a giant company, a difference of 10% is a considerable fortune.

"The problem is, what good is stalling them?" Hill looked at Joshua. "How do we get our hands on the rights held by Li Fu?"

"It's simple, Li Fu will have to be sold off cheaply in the future," Joshua said confidently.

Because the members of the House of Representatives are ready.

Goldman Sachs isn't just eyeing MGM; it's also targeting the soon-to-be-built logistics hubs in the Rust Belt, and even the Warriors.