[US Entertainment] Popular all over the world

Chapter 313

Hero or male junior?

All of a sudden, Crowe and Ryan Quaid's affair scandal dominated all the tabloid headlines in Hollywood.

Generally speaking, movie fans have a very low moral bottom line for Hollywood stars, but the problem is that the woman is a well-known American sweetheart, and the man plays a tragic hero in the movie.

Under this series of combined punches, "Gladiator" has just been released but has been misfired, and DreamWorks really can't support it.

As a result, the Big Three erupted into a fierce dispute for the last time.

As a result, this label, which brought together all the ambitions of Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg, was acquired by Skynet Media for US$12 billion.

The acquisition was paid in the form of cash + stock + debt acceptance, of which the debt of DreamWorks alone was 8.5 million U.S. dollars, and the three giants who each invested 1 million U.S. dollars to start a business got back 5000 million or [-] million in cash or stock.

Not only is it a bad loss, but after this battle, I am afraid that the Big Three will never have the courage and fighting spirit to challenge Hollywood again.

The change of ownership of DreamWorks is just one of the episodes of the millennium in Hollywood, and more attention is still focused on Vivendi-Universal, one of the six major companies that has just merged.

As soon as the re-listed Vivendi-Universal opened, the stock price went down all the way, and even dropped to the limit several times, and all kinds of negative news about it were officially intervened by Chuck Rhodes, the prosecutor of the Ministry of Justice. Chavievandi - Universal's financial problems.

On the one hand, it is already an indisputable fact that Universal Music made financial fraud when it acquired Polygram Records;

On the other hand, the debt that Vivendi concealed for this merger case is even more serious. Although the short-selling report released by Flying Mirror may not be all true, 100 billion is definitely a desperate figure.

07:30am.

Josie and Frank have breakfast in the Hortons' Upper East Side penthouse.

The demeanor of the father and daughter is almost the same, even the posture of making a phone call is almost the same, but it can still make people feel the elegance deep in the blood.

This kind of elegance is not restrained, but accompanied by a kind of relaxation and chic brought about by a strong self-confidence, which makes their movements obviously not in line with the etiquette norms, but they are still so pleasing to the eye.

"Vivendi-Universal has fallen below $85." Frank put down the phone and said first.

"Oh, trading is suspended." Josie also put down her mobile phone, took a sip of milk and said, "Aix wanted to increase leverage, but I rejected it."

The rules of the Paris Stock Exchange are that if a stock fluctuates by more than 15 percent of the closing price of the previous day, the stock will be suspended from trading for [-] minutes, and now is this moment.

Fran glanced at his daughter and said, "My personal suggestion is that you guys better get ready to leave. The cockroaches here are not something you guys can play around with."

"Little guy?" Josie raised her eyebrows.

"Otherwise?" Frank smiled back, and opened today's newspaper, "Put the negative news first, and at the same time, short selling caused the stock price to plummet. It's all left over by Carl Icahn more than ten years ago. You should really be thankful for Vivan Dee and Bronfman do not have sufficient cash reserves."

Yes, Ax Capital in Aix has done well in recent years.

But the problem is that his backing is not secure enough, and his way of doing things is too extreme, and he has been watched for a long time.

So Frank deliberately added: "After this time, you should reduce your dealings with Aix, if you don't plan to take him home."

"Why can you think of the relationship between men and women in normal business activities, Dad?" Josie was noncommittal about this question, swallowing the food in her mouth slowly, and then said: "The moves are not afraid of old age, as long as they are easy to use, right? ?And I am very clear that their previous crazy mergers and acquisitions have already laid the groundwork for the current failure, and I have considered from the beginning that they may take over by themselves.”

Frank snorted lightly, and said: "If it were me, I would choose to close the position to increase the stock price, clear you small fish and shrimps first, and re-enter the market to short after the stock price rises, then you and Aix will play It's over."

Short selling is to borrow stocks from a securities company or a bank. In fact, the stocks are still in the account of the other institution, and a certain margin must be paid to conduct securities lending.

For example, if the principal is US$100 including margin, the stock price is US$100, and the leverage is [-] times short, the book will have US$[-] million after the sale;

After that, the stock price dropped to 40 US dollars, and I spent 60 US dollars to buy back the stock and return it to the brokerage. I earned [-] US dollars excluding handling fees, but if the stock price rose, the position would be forced to close, and the loss would be deducted from the margin.

So in theory, it is impossible for brokerages to lose money.

——It is precisely because of this that Josie wants to short Vivendi-Universal. This plan cannot be operated by one or two stock brokers. It must be negotiated with a securities company or an investment bank through Aix Capital. , otherwise you may not even be able to borrow stocks.

The worst possible scenario is that Ax Capital of Ax ends up shorting the market, and someone buys the shares it sold, causing the stock price to rise, and Ax Capital is the first to clear the market.

"This is exactly what we have considered before." Josie paused, then looked at Frank, "But Aix thinks it can be operated, because the French have no money, and neither does Bronfman, they can't afford it." This market. There are not many people on Wall Street who can take this market, but the vast majority of people, such as the top executives at Lehman, are firmly bearish, and their internal risk control will hardly choose to wash the market.”

Frank silently glanced at Josie, did not question Josie's judgment, but looked away, and said, "If Lehman doesn't do it, other people may not do it. It is very complicated for capital to stir up the financial market. Although you have the upper hand , but may not be able to have the last laugh.”

How many people fall on Wall Street every year?

Not to mention, Tiger Fund's Julian Robertson had no choice but to declare bankruptcy this year. In its heyday, Tiger Fund managed as much as 220 billion U.S. dollars, and was more sought after by investors than Soros' Quantum Fund.

And it is Julian Robertson, the most influential figures on Wall Street, who also experienced a series of investment mistakes in the fields they thought they knew well, which directly caused the assets under management of Tiger Fund to shrink to more than 60 billion US dollars.

The international financial market cannot be leveraged by ordinary people or hundreds of millions of dollars.

You may be able to escape the indiscriminate clearing of the predators if you see what is good, but you will only end up with nothing if you are too greedy. Frank has already experienced this personally.

Josie thought about it, and felt that what Frank said made sense.

After all, the stock market is changing rapidly, and she only knows that Vivendi-Universal will continue to decline in the past two years, but she can't judge the stock market every day, so the idea of ​​closing positions becomes more and more serious.

But this matter still needs to be discussed with Aix. If it is not necessary, Josie doesn't want her people in Paris to use violence against Aix's team.

"So, what about DreamWorks?" Frank asked about another matter.

"Better than I expected." Josie temporarily put aside the chaotic thoughts in her head, and replied: "Jeffrey Katzenberg is willing to support us, but he is still considering the matter of succeeding Michael Ovitz .”

Frank nodded, drinking coffee while reading the newspaper, "You want to backhand buy Vivendi-Universal's low-priced stock, and take the opportunity to sit on the other party's board of directors. The plan is no problem. The problem is that what you want is Universal Pictures."

"They don't necessarily sell themselves?" Josie asked.

"Yes. Universal Pictures is an important part of the Vivendi Media Empire, and it is also the key to attracting the French to acquire Seagram-Universal."

"But Americans don't want to see all this."

"Don't forget that Bronfman was a Jewish tycoon."

"A Jewish tycoon who betrayed the common interests?" Josie pressed the corner of her lips with a napkin. "Father, if possible, I would like to see Mr. Underwood."

"you sure?"

"determine."

"I will consider."

Frank put down the newspaper, without a definite answer.

My own daughter is really elusive. The only thing that is certain is that she has unimaginable ambition and action, which is completely opposite to her mother.

But very much like another person.

That's Frank himself.

It's so strange and so familiar, isn't it?

However, his daughter is becoming more and more like himself, which did not bring much joy to Frank, but more of a kind of worry and avoidance. He didn't even have the courage to think about what Josie has experienced in Hollywood in the past few years. , will become the current "Josie Horton".

Thinking of this, Frank slowly sipped the coffee in his hand, his eyes drooped, hiding the complicated thoughts in his eyes.

Josie didn't continue to ask, but quickly finished her own breakfast, and then went out to the set of "Secret Agent Belle".

Horton's side can be called "father's kindness and son's filial piety", but Bronfman was misunderstood by his son.

"Michael, my friend, what did Bronfman do wrong?" The elderly Jewish tycoon suppressed the coughing in his throat with difficulty and asked his compatriots in front of him.

In just a few weeks, the assets of the Bronfman family have shrunk by more than half, and the price they paid was quite painful.

But the crisis that belongs to Bronfman is not over yet.

A series of negative news is just an introduction. The key point is that this introduction has ignited a fire against Bronfman, but none of his former friends extended a helping hand, and some even fell into trouble.

This was something that made old Bronfman's heart shudder.

"Edgar, they think Bronfman has colluded with the enemy." Sitting in front of the old Bronfman is a middle-aged man in his fifties, who is in the prime of life, "I'm sorry, but Bloomberg doesn't belong to I am Bloomberg alone, and I cannot agree to your request."

In fact, not only will he not help Bronfman clear up rumors of alleged financial fraud -- which they both know are not rumors -- but he will follow up with the report.

Looking at Edgar Mills Bronfman, who was so old and outrageously old, a tiny sympathy flashed in Michael Bloomberg's heart—but it was only a fleeting moment.

Those people on Wall Street ended up shorting this matter. Michael Bloomberg had already received the wind, but he did not expect that the development of things would become so crazy.

It was just a "lesson" at the beginning, but who can resist eating the meat that is really on the lips?

Blame only Vivendi—Universal did not clean up its own tail before the merger, and it is not innocent to evaporate tens of billions of market value now.

But the key now is that those people have tasted the sweetness, how can they stop, and even more and more people spontaneously joined the short-selling of Vivendi-Universal led by the short sellers, which directly led to the emergency suspension of Vivendi-Universal. .

Old Bronfman was not surprised, just sighed: "Well, then tell me, how do they stop—in other words, what do they want?"

When capital comes to this world, it will always be bloody. It is not about treating guests to dinner, nor enjoying flowers and drinking tea.

To get something, you have to give something.

And the old Bronfman tried to save Vivendi-Universal, which was in decline, and had to feed those hungry wolves in other ways.

"Let's put it this way, I'm only responsible for conveying their meaning—" Michael Bloomberg leaned forward, looking directly into the old Bronfman's eyes, "Universal Music can be left to your son, but Universal Pictures , cannot fall into the hands of Europeans."

The old Bronfman said slowly: "I am sure that Seagram holds the majority of the group's shares, and Universal Pictures has always been under our control."

Michael Bloomberg smiled lightly: "Edgar, if you are going to perfuse me in this way, then I am really disappointed in you."

Old Bronfman didn't answer immediately, but just sat there silently, and after about 3 minutes, he let out a long breath.

"It is impossible for us to divest the most important assets of the group just after a complete merger and reorganization, and everyone will lose confidence." He said, "Moreover, most of the shares of Universal Pictures are not in our hands. I need time to convince The rest of the family."