sbdcsierra Chapter 1456 Lei Shidong's Offer
Chapter 1456 Lei Shidong's Offer
Chapter 1456 Lei Shidong's Offer
"Jordan Chandler's attorney, Larry Feldman, filed a court motion seeking to obtain the police photos of Jackson. The motion made a multiple-choice request: Either copies of the photos be provided, a second search of Jackson be conducted, or the court could prohibit the photos from being used as evidence in the civil trial.
Feldman said the district attorney's office had previously denied a request for the photos. Jackson's attorneys asked a Santa Barbara County judge to order prosecutors to return the photos, fearing they could become public, but the request was denied.
After the New Year holiday, the American media was once again dominated by the Michael Jackson case.
Prosecutors have not yet released any results of the strip search before Christmas, whether MJ's physical description matches Jordan Chandler's testimony.
It seems that the prosecutors either did not obtain any substantial evidence or wanted to save some trump cards for the trial. The plaintiff's father actually just wanted compensation. Evidence in a criminal case cannot be automatically used in a civil case unless the prosecutors agree or disclose the evidence.
Therefore, the plaintiff's lawyer started another hype about whether MJ had those physical characteristics. Even if MJ was found not guilty, all the people who might serve as jurors would know about this, which might be disadvantageous to him.
"Ronald, the latest round of offers has come out, and it has become a personal vendetta. Our speculation has been successful."
Just as Ronald was reading the daily news, Bannon came to tell Ronald the good news. QVC and Viacom had made the latest round of acquisition offers for Paramount Media.
"How much can we earn at this price?" Ronald was excited. Isn't this Lei Shidong sending money to him?
Both parties have almost fired their last bullet and are determined to acquire Paramount Media. Viacom's final offer is $82 per share in cash, plus stock swaps, to purchase 50.1% of the stock.
This plan gave Paramount shareholders more cash and fewer shares, and provided two key guarantees: first, Martin Davis would continue to serve as CEO and vice chairman of the merged company, and second, all Paramount shareholders would enjoy a protective price, and if the stock price fell, the protective price would make up for the decline.
QVC's offer was less cash per share and more stock, but it neither protected shareholders from possible losses due to a drop in stock price after the acquisition nor gave Martin Davis any position. Barry Diller was initially fired by Paramount because of a conflict with Martin Davis, and he came this time to avenge this personal grudge.
In comparison, QVC has the strength to offer a higher offer because of its strong cash flow and high market value. However, Viacom's offer has already consumed all of Redstone's money. This is really his last offer and he can't offer anything more.
Both parties still have ten days to make the next round of bids. At that time, the board of directors will vote to decide which plan to recommend to the shareholders' meeting. If nothing unexpected happens, the decision of the board of directors will basically be the final decision.
Although Lei Shidong is already 70 years old, his style of doing things seems to be more childish than that of Barry Diller, who is 52 years old. This rich second generation just wants to win and is willing to pay any price. Barry Diller is more like a traditional businessman. When doing business, how can you not talk about price?
"Viacom's stock price is currently around $53 and is still falling. According to the acquisition conditions, I have asked someone to calculate that the final support level of the stock price will be around $40. In this case, if our put options are operated normally, we can make a profit of nearly million according to the current operation."
"I can add some more money, as long as it is settled within ten days."
Ronald added some money to this small speculation, only focusing on Viacom, because Redstone had no room, while QVC still had some ammunition to use. As long as it was completed before the deadline of the new round of bidding, it would be a very profitable speculation. Even if Viacom lost the bidding, the stock price would not rise for a while, so the timing of his entry into the market was very suitable and the risk was not great.
"The judge rejected the claims of MJ and Chandler, and the trial is scheduled to begin in early March..."
The next day, MJ's case changed again. Both parties' requests were rejected, and the results of the strip search could not be released to the media before the trial. The party who violated the rules would be charged with contempt of court.
Now, the interest of the gossip media in the United States was piqued again. Every tabloid reporter tried to get some information about the search. If a photo of MJ being searched naked was accidentally leaked...it would be a carnival day for the tabloids.
Suddenly, the number of paparazzi in Los Angeles increased dramatically. The Los Angeles court, the plaintiff's dentist's office, MJ's estate and his lawyer's office were all surrounded by people wearing baseball caps.
"Ronald, someone claiming to be Redstone from Viacom wants to see you..."
Ronald, who was having dinner, suddenly received a call. After Diane stood up to answer the phone, her expression became strange and then she handed the phone to him.
"Who?" Ronald didn't hear clearly at first, but the words came out of his mouth into the microphone.
"It's me, Ronald. We met ten years ago. Do you remember?"
"I don't have much impression..." Ronald muttered to himself. He did meet him once when he was doing an advertisement on MTV. Lei Shidong had a dandy vibe, which didn't match his aura, but he couldn't say that. "Yes, Mr. Lei Shidong..."
"I want to meet you. Can you come to my house?" Sure enough, Lei Shidong was still the same aggressive person.
"I'm having dinner with my family. If you have anything to say, you can come over to my place or talk on the phone?" Ronald didn't want to pay attention to him. This guy was only one step away from acquiring Paramount. He wouldn't come here to... borrow money, right?
"Hey, young man. I need to discuss a deal with you that will benefit both of us. If you don't come, you will miss the opportunity. Don't blame me for not warning you. It will be disadvantageous to you."
"I think it's you who's going to buy something, not me who's going to sell it, Mr. Redstone." Ronald couldn't understand how this old man still maintained his dandy style.
"Okay, I'll just come and visit you. Do you have any good wine?"
“What do you like, Bordeaux or Burgundy?”
……
"This Romanee-Conti is indeed a very good wine. Is it 1985 or 1988?" A few hours later, Lei Shidong sat in Ronald's study facing the garden courtyard, drinking the expensive Romanee-Conti that Ronald opened, and made his own comments.
"It was actually in 1990..."
When Lei Shidong heard that it was from the 1990s, his eyes showed satisfaction. His collection consists of even better aged wines.
"I wonder if there's anything I can do for you, Mr. Redstone?" Ronald caught the smug look, smiled and started the conversation.
Lei Shidong waved his hand and asked one of his female companions to stay away. He wanted to have a private conversation with Ronald. Then, the middle-aged woman left quickly, with a surprising pace.
"I want to buy your Blockbuster stock..."
"What?" Ronald was quite surprised. How come Redstone knew about the Blockbuster shares he had bought for DDH Media? And wasn't he bidding for Paramount? Why did he want to buy Blockbuster now? Didn't he want it anymore?
"Don't be surprised, young man. If you pay attention, you will know what you did." Lei Shidong twisted his mouth. The traces of burns from a fire when he was young were still there, so when he laughed, he could only grin on one side, just like Stallone.
"No, my company needs some Blockbuster shares, which are very important for the production in terms of cash flow and debt repayment."
"Young man, I admire your boldness and frankness, and I can understand your reason. But I think that it's not just Blockbuster that's listed on the stock market. The same is true for the other stocks you bought."
"But Blockbuster is the best. Can you tell me why you want to buy Blockbuster's stock?" Ronald was a little wary. Did this old man know that he was going to go public? Normally, the key valuation, price, number of shares, etc. of the listing were kept confidential. Could it be that Redstone felt that he had no hope of buying Paramount and was eyeing his small company?
"This has nothing to do with you, young man. I'll give you a chance. If you sell me your Blockbuster stocks, I guarantee you can make a small fortune..." Redstone took out his thick pen, wrote a number on a piece of paper and handed it to Ronald.
"This price is only valid before ten o'clock tonight..."
"Thirty-three..." When Ronald saw the price, he realized it was three dollars higher than Blockbuster's closing price. It was indeed a small opportunity to make money.
But... Ronald bought Blockbuster for the purpose of increasing the valuation of his DDH after it went public. He expected that buying these shares would increase the valuation of his DDH by less than $200 million, but if he sold them to Redstone, he would only make a profit of $10 million.
Besides, Lei Shidong wouldn't come here in person just to make him 10 million, right?
The so-called "effective tonight" is just a bargaining tactic, Ronald will not be fooled.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Redstone, I didn't buy Blockbuster stock to make a quick buck..."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...Anyway, I've given you a chance. If you call me before ten o'clock, you can still make the deal at this price. Young man, you still have a lot to learn. If you reject my kindness, you will have to bear the losses yourself. Just treat it as a lesson...Sally, let's go..."
Lei Shidong stood up and was about to leave. The female companion came over and took his arm. When they reached the door, Lei Shidong turned around and said to Ronald, "Before ten o'clock, remember..."
"Ah, sorry..."
Walking in were two of Ronald's colleagues, Yang Yanzi and Claudia Wells. They were here to discuss Ang Lee's "wedding banquet" and participation in the Berlin Film Festival.
"Beautiful girl, my name is Summer. I heard that women like to be spanked. Do you like it?"
"Summer, this is my colleague..." Ronald couldn't stand it anymore, so he stood up and interrupted the lecherous old man from harassing his subordinates.
"OK," Lei Shidong looked at Claudia lustfully, and then said to Ronald, "Don't sue me for sexual harassment because of this. Don't be like a woman. Your house is really nice. You can sell it to me later..." Then he walked out the door.
“Who is this old pervert?” Claudia asked angrily.
"It's Summer Redstone," Yang Yanzi is more familiar with these Hollywood tycoons.
"Christ Jesus..."
"Girls, I'm sorry, it's an emergency. Lei Shidong brought me a cooperation opportunity. I have to have a meeting with Ed to discuss it. Please wait here for a moment and tell Aunt Wang that there will be snacks and coffee in the evening. If you want to drink red wine, there is also Romanee-Conti..."
"Ahaha, Romanee-Conti, boss, go ahead and do your work, we'll have some fun here."
"Ed, Redstone suddenly came to me today and wanted to buy shares of Blockbuster..." Ronald went upstairs, found the confidential line, and talked about this matter with Ed Bastian, who was working in New York to prepare for the IPO.
"Salton? He's not buying Paramount anymore? No, he wants to test our bottom line, right? This guy is cunning and likes to contact his competitors in person before making an acquisition. How do you answer him?"
Ed Bastian was also nervous. After all, Redstone's Viacom was a multi-billion dollar company. If it targeted his DDH, it would be quite troublesome.
"He gave me an offer that expires at 10 o'clock tonight, offering me a profit of 10 million US dollars on my Blockbuster stock and buying all the shares. I refused, but Redstone said I might suffer a loss tomorrow..."
"Well, there are only a few possibilities. He doesn't want to buy Paramount anymore and wants to buy Blockbuster instead. He wants to test DDH's bottom line as a small substitute for Paramount... No matter what he thinks, it's not good for us. If we stick to the original plan..."
"Maybe it's our best option, just ignore him." Ronald also agreed with Ed's analysis.
"After all, the wedding banquet has some plots about minority groups. Are they also doing some marketing here?"
"Look at the results we achieved in Berlin. Yimou will be the judge this time. Please remind me to assign him a translator. This is one of our advantages..."
Ronald discussed the marketing plan for the wedding banquet with the two female generals, and told the driver to take them back. After drinking some red wine and being reminded of the harassment by a pervert like Lei Shidong, Ronald decided to put safety first and send them home.
Looking back at the time, it was almost ten o'clock in the evening, and Ronald thought of the deadline again. Redstone was able to start MTV with the theater chain passed down to him by his father, win the bloody battle of the hostile acquisition of Viacom, and recover from the severe burns all over his body to play tennis every day. He is a gambler but wins every game. Maybe this time is not that simple, maybe give him a favor?
"Let's stick to our plan..." Ronald retracted his hand that was reaching for the phone. His own business was already on the verge of success. An unexpected event like Lei Shidong would only bring him a small profit. If he gave up, he could get a bigger reward.
Besides, rejecting Lei Shidong would only mean rejecting a small profit and would not bring any loss.
……
"Ring ring ring ring..."
By noon the next day, calls from Ed Bastian and Bannon were coming in one after another.
"Ronald, Ronald, Fxck! Redstone bought Blockbuster. Blockbuster paid $55 billion at $12.5 per share to purchase 2300 million Class B non-voting shares of Viacom. Our stocks are going to fall, and Blockbuster will be used as a cash cow by him as a bullet to acquire Paramount..."
"Fxck..." Ronald jumped up from his chair. Damn, this cunning old Redstone is really amazing. It's called a merger, but in fact he's eyeing the cash in Blockbuster's account. He got $12.5 billion in cash, which can exceed QVC's offer.
Moreover, the Blockbuster shares he had bought would become Viacom shares. Increasing the acquisition offer by more than a billion would mean that Viacom's stock price would fall further. Since his DDH was in the silent period of listing, he couldn't even sell it at a loss and run away.
"Fuck! Damn Redstone, damn Viacom, damn Blockbuster, how could there be such a stupid board of directors, how could there be such people who give their own companies to others as ammunition?"