America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM

Chapter 14 I want a loan of 2 billion

Beverly Hills, Cooper's House.

It was 4 o'clock in the evening. The father and son had been talking for a long time and they had reached an agreement.

Charlie Cooper was finally persuaded. His ambition was burning in his chest. It was just a big gamble.

His son can win 1.1 billion from the World Cup. He believes that by joining forces with father and son, coupled with his inside information, there is still a chance of successfully acquiring MGM.

Through the conversation with his father, Eric also understood the current situation of MGM, which can be said to be precarious.

Last year, although it made a lot of money with "Legally Blonde" and "Hannibal", "Original Sin", "The Heartbreaker" and "A Thief Meets a Thief" all released in the same year suffered losses.

"Original Sin" invited Angelina Jolie, with a total investment of US$50 million, but the global box office was only US$35 million, a loss of US$30 million.

The total investment of "Two Heart-stealing Mothers and Daughters" was US$40 million, with a global box office of US$57 million and a loss of more than 10 million.

The total investment of "A Thief Meets a Thief" was close to 80 million U.S. dollars, and the global box office was only a measly 38 million U.S. dollars, a loss that went to my grandma's house.

So in 2001, MGM didn't make much money at all. So far in 2002, MGM has released films such as "Fast Storm", "Hart's Battle", "Killing Your Tenderness", and "Windtalker".

The total investment of "Fast Storm" was US$100 million, and the global box office was US$25 million, a huge loss.

"Hart" starred Bruce Willis, with a total investment of US$100 million and a global box office of US$32 million, another huge loss.

The director of "Killing Your Tenderness" is Chen Kaige, forget it.

Coupled with the sudden death of "Windtalker", MGM has been losing money for half a year.

However, among the movies that will be released in the second half of the year are "Red Dragon" and "Barbershop", one is planned to be released in October and the other in November.

According to memory, both of these movies made a lot of money. If MGM is allowed to survive until then, the difficulty of acquisition will be greatly increased, so now is the best time to acquire them.

"Dad, if I remember correctly, Kirk Kerkorian and his close family members hold more than 80% of the shares of MGM."

Charlie Cooper shook his head: "More than 80%, to be precise, 92%. MGM is equivalent to his sole proprietorship."

"That is to say, as long as Kerkorian is taken care of, there will be no resistance to the acquisition, right?"

"It can be said that there is also good news that is very useful to us. Kerkorian's hotel business has not been doing well recently. Coupled with MGM's losses, he intends to sell MGM again."

Eric frowned slightly: "What does the word 'again' mean?"

Charlie Cooper immediately told the history of MGM. It turned out that MGM had been acquired by Kerkorian as early as 1970 due to its financial situation.

But the guy had no interest in movies and his focus was always on the casino and hotel business.

The reason why I bought MGM was that I coveted the land owned by MGM, which could be used directly to build hotels, thus saving a lot of trouble.

On the other hand, it is naturally used to launder money. From the beginning of the movie, it has been one of the best money laundering tools.

As a gambling tycoon, Kerkorian naturally needs such a professional money laundering tool.

In the following years, Kerkorian sold and bought back MGM several times. After decades of frustration, it is surprising that the company can develop.

Affected by 9/11 and other incidents, the hotel and entertainment business throughout the United States has recently declined. In order to replenish blood for his hotel, Kerkorian naturally considered selling MGM.

After pondering for a moment, Eric had a thought: "Dad, is there any way to get inside information about the MGM Hotel?"

Charlie Cooper said without thinking: "It's impossible. Although there are many people arranged by Kerkorian at MGM, these guys don't know about it. I'm not familiar with the hotel business and have no connections in this industry. "

"Actually, instead of trying to find inside information, it would be better to have a showdown with Kerkorian directly. After all, I have worked for him for more than ten years, so I believe he will give me face."

It was already noon when I woke up, today was the weekend, and Charlie Cooper was too lazy to go to the company.

At the dinner table, Emily looked at the two of them suspiciously: "What are you muttering about? What are you hiding from me?"

"I don't have a mother. I'm just talking about work. I want to develop in the entertainment industry, which is also a good choice."

My mother has never worried about work. In her opinion, with her son's outstanding qualities, he can prosper no matter where he goes.

After lunch, Eric drove his father directly to Citibank, where he had a deposit of US$300 million.

Because I called in advance, even on the weekend, the Citibank manager came over.

As soon as he entered the door, he was taken into the VIP room. A capable middle-aged man in a suit and tie immediately stood up to say hello.

At the same time, when he saw Charlie Cooper, he couldn't help but be startled: "Mr. Cooper, you guys?"

Charlie Cooper shook hands with the other party: "Eric is my son."

The manager looked back and forth between the two of them for a while, then sat down in surprise: "I didn't expect that our mysterious big customer is actually your son. Your tutor is really outstanding."

Obviously, in the manager's view, the $300 million deposit was naturally the handiwork of Charlie Cooper.

After all, such a large amount of money is barely reasonable for a CEO. But if the target is a college student who has just graduated, the manager may want to call the police.

The female staff member with black glasses put down her coffee and stood nearby with a smile on her face.

Studies have shown that in the presence of beautiful women, the closing rate is always several percentage points higher.

"Mr. Cooper, what kind of business do you want to do? I have several products here."

Before the manager could finish speaking, Charlie Cooper interrupted him decisively: "Loan, I want a loan."

Hearing this, the manager hesitantly said: "Mr. Cooper, given the current situation of MGM, Citibank is afraid..."

Charlie Cooper interrupted him again: "No, I want the loan myself."

The manager and the female employee in black stockings were stunned for a moment at the same time, thinking that they are so rich and can still pay the loan?

"Mr. Cooper, I wonder how much you want to borrow?"

"The more, the better. If Citibank can lend me 2 billion, I think it is the best."

Fortunately, I didn't drink coffee, otherwise I would definitely squirt, but the manager's professional ethics is still very good, especially when dealing with such a big customer.

The manager did not refuse directly, but asked tentatively: "Mr. Cooper, can you tell me what the purpose of your loan is? We also need a risk assessment."

Charlie Cooper briefly described the acquisition plan and also told a little lie: "This is indeed a bold plan, but I have raised US$1.1 billion, and both Morgan and Goldman Sachs have decided to lend me money. Now it's up to Citibank of sincerity.”

In the blink of an eye, the offense and defense were in different positions.

The manager swallowed hard: "Mr. Cooper, I don't have such a high authority. I need to ask the headquarters for instructions."