The Best Entertainment Era

The sky slipped down the fine rain lines, and a black Cadillac drove through the Santa Monica Valley, gradually approaching the beach area, and then stopped in front of a business club.

James Nathan pushed the door and got out of the car, held up a big black umbrella to cover his dark face, and walked quickly into the clubhouse.

Hello, Mr. Nathan. Someone greeted him: I'm Djorkaeff from Relativity Entertainment. We met in Century City last time.

The two made an appointment, and James Nathan naturally remembered who he was, shook hands with Djorkaeff, and said, Good morning.

After a few words of politeness, Djorkaeff stretched out his hand to signal: This way please.

James Nathan followed Djorkaeff into a reception room with a sea view, and coffee and snacks were immediately brought.

It is not the first time that Djorkaeff met James Nathan and asked directly: Mr. Nathan, how did you think about my last proposal?

James Nathan is a shareholder of Artisan Films, with nearly 9% of the shares in his hands. He was an investor in Artisan Films' financing and expansion period in the 1990s, not a venture shareholder.

This kind of person invests for profit.

Although the income of Artisan Films is not high, it has a relatively stable income every year. James Nathan did not answer directly: I have always been very satisfied with the investment of Artisan Films.

Even if you want to sell shares, you can't say it directly.

Djorkaeff is in charge of contacting James Nathan, and of course he has carefully studied the situation between him and Artisan Films: As far as I know, the shareholders of Artisan Films are not very satisfied with the company's development in the past two years.

James Nathan laughed and said naturally: Shareholders will never be satisfied with the company's earnings.

This is simply the truth. Djorkaeff could not refute it, and he would not refute it. He said: Since 1997, the annual revenue of Artisan Pictures has been very stable, with almost no growth. What does this mean? Mr. Nathan, You are a veteran investor, you should be able to understand that Artisan Pictures has no potential for development.

James Nathan still chuckled: Stability means that the risk is also small.

Djorkaeff also laughed: There has been no growth in revenue for seven consecutive years. From the perspective of investment and currency, it is not an exaggeration to say that the company is going downhill. The development of most companies and enterprises will always follow a law. Wait for growth. After the stagnation enters a plateau period,

That means a downturn is imminent.

He pressed forward step by step: With the current situation in Hollywood and Artisan Pictures' operating standards, can this company regain its vitality? Taking a step back, Artisan Pictures can maintain the current situation in the next four to five years. There will be no appreciation of the assets in hand, this is an asset worth tens of millions of dollars, is there any difference between standing still and losing money?

James Nathan naturally understands these words, and also knows that if Artisan Pictures cannot develop further, the shares in his hands will actually depreciate, so he may not have the idea of ​​cashing out, otherwise he will not have a second meeting with Djorkaeff face.

But the shares in hand must of course be sold at an ideal price.

James Nathan did not answer Djorkaeff's words, but instead asked: You represent the Relativity Entertainment Group? The Relativity Entertainment Group that filmed and released Pirates of the Caribbean?

Djorkaeff couldn't deny it, saying: Hollywood is now a Relativity Entertainment Group.

James Nathan suddenly picked up the coffee cup and sipped it slowly. Djorkaeff was not in a hurry and waited patiently.

After half a cup of coffee, James Nathan said slowly: Since you said that Artisan Pictures is not doing well, why does Relativity Entertainment want to acquire it?

Djorkaeff smiled confidently: Companies are different from companies.

James Nathan was silent again for a short time, and then said without warning: I personally agree with this transaction. Instead of waiting for the assets to depreciate, it is better to make reasonable optimization.

It was a wise decision, Djorkaeff said with a smile.

But James Nathan, as an investor, is not a vegetarian: I can sell the shares of Artisan Pictures to Relativity Entertainment, but... I don't accept cash transactions.

Djorkaeff stared, knowing that things were not that simple, and immediately asked, What is Mr. Nathan's request?

James Nathan spoke slowly, but what he said was astonishing: The transaction will be done in the form of a share exchange. I will exchange the shares of Artisan Pictures for the shares of Relativity Entertainment.

He slowly stretched out two fingers: The replacement ratio is not high. I exchange nearly 9% of the shares of Artisan Films for 2% of the shares of Relativity Entertainment.

Djorkaeff's face sank slightly, and the muscles on his face couldn't help jumping a few times. What a joke, 10% of Artisan Pictures' shares are not worth 2% of Relativity Entertainment.

Besides, the immediate boss Robert Iger said that the share replacement has never been considered in the transaction.

Not to mention that he has no power in this transaction method, even if he has the power, it is impossible to agree.

Djorkaeff shook his head: Mr. Nathan was joking. He didn't wait for James Nathan to react, and said, Relativity Entertainment is willing to offer 25 million US dollars for the shares in your hand. Please think about it.

Hearing this number, James Nathan's heart moved. This is more than double the investment that year.

Although his request was rejected, the relativity entertainment seemed sincere.

James Nathan nodded slightly, and said: I will seriously consider your company's offer, come here today, and we will keep in touch.

Djorkaeff stood up and shook his hand: Mr. Nathan can contact me any time.

The two left the business club one after another. Djorkaeff rushed back to Relativity Entertainment immediately and reported the details of the meeting in detail.

Ronan has already returned to Los Angeles from Baja California, and he listened to it roughly. According to Robert Iger, with the scale and strength of Artisan Pictures and the actual operating conditions, there are not many places for acquisitions. is the key.

Although Yijiang Pictures has the intention to sell from the shareholders to the management, but Yijiang Pictures is not a loss-making company after all.

According to the multi-dimensional valuation of Relativity Entertainment, the actual value of Artisan Pictures is about 300 million US dollars. Its most valuable business is the film library on the one hand, and film production and distribution on the other.

If you want to win Artisan Pictures, a premium acquisition is inevitable.

The value of Artisan Pictures in the past must have been higher than it is now. The appearance of Ronan has had an impact on Artisan Pictures, such as The Blair Witch, which was purchased and distributed by Artisan Pictures at that time.

This film not only allowed Artisan Pictures to skyrocket its annual performance, but also brought huge cash flow, which provided financial guarantee for Artisan Pictures to support other businesses.

In addition, Artisan Pictures still has some copyrights that have not been adapted, such as Marvel's Punisher and so on.

Then there is the huge script library of Artisan Pictures. It is said that there are hundreds of scripts with copyright.

Of course, it is difficult to say how much the operation value is.

These scripts are basically copyrights purchased at very low prices, and then pressed in the script library of Artisan Pictures, waiting for the day when they will be seen again.

Most of them can only wait for the ashes to fall.

Ronan also wanted to see the script library of Artisan Pictures. Who knows what stocks are in the script library of these established companies? Maybe something of value can be found.

But that will have to wait until Artisan Pictures gets their hands on it.

Robert Iger's main job recently is to work on the acquisition of Artisan Films. After several months of preparation, the two parties have entered the stage of substantive contact. Some members of his acquisition team are like Djorkaeff That way, preliminary contacts were made with some shareholders of Artisan Pictures.

The status quo of Artisan Pictures is not bad, and certainly not too good. As long as the price is right, most shareholders will not refuse to sell.

As early as when he first entered Relativity Entertainment, Robert Iger had his eye on Artisan Pictures, and he chose to launch it at this time because Artisan Pictures did have plans to sell himself.

Hollywood film companies, even the Big Six, are ups and downs. Although all the companies have remained and still occupy an absolute dominant position in the industry, the owners behind the scenes have changed one after another.

The rise, development, bankruptcy or acquisition of medium-sized film companies seems to be an eternal theme.

Hollywood's newly developed movies seem to be unable to escape the fate of being acquired or going bankrupt.

Emile Marin, the chairman of the board of directors of Artisan Pictures, looked at Robert Iger, who was much younger than himself, in the company's reception room, wondering whether Relativity Entertainment would eventually follow the same path as Artisan Pictures?

Mr. Marin. Robert Iger directly stated his intentions: I heard that Artisan Pictures plans to sell it?

Relativity Entertainment contacted many shareholders of Artisan Films, even if it is a private transaction, according to the laws and regulations, it must notify Artisan Films of the equity change, and there is no way to hide it from anyone.

There is no need for Emile Marin to deny it: Bob, you are very well informed. We just discussed it internally, but we didn't expect the news to reach your ears.

Aren't all businessmen's skins worn out, and Robert Iger is not embarrassed, showing a kind smile: The Relativity Entertainment family is not the only one who got the news.

It was impossible for Emile Marin to care about this kind of issue, and asked deliberately: Relativity Entertainment is interested in Artisan Pictures?

Robert Iger simply said: Artisan Pictures has been the hard work of Mr. Marin for many years. If it is handed over to others, are you at ease? Relativity Entertainment is one of the fastest growing companies in the industry, and Mr. Ronan Anderson attaches great importance to it. Artisan Films, if Artisan Films can join Relativity Entertainment Group, it will not let down Mr. Ma Lin's years of hard work.

As the company's entrepreneur and a person who has developed and grown by himself, Emil Marin must be lying if he says he has no feelings for Artisan Pictures.

But he is old, his ambition is no longer what it used to be, and he has insufficient equity in his hands, and he cannot suppress the rebound of other shareholders.

We can talk. Emile Marin made it clear.