America: My Time

Chapter 71 Promotion
Chapter Seventy-One Sales
In just six months, John's net worth skyrocketed, largely due to Game World, a company no one had ever believed in. It had now defeated Atari to become an industry giant. To Wall Street giants, the people Atari had gathered were merely engaging in underhanded tactics, but Game World was powerless against them. On the contrary, the more they stirred things up, the more renowned Game World became. So far, Game World has remained silent, likely intending to capitalize on this controversy for increased publicity!

If a group of ignorant people can force companies to open up their platforms, what's the point of laws? If everyone did that, what kind of development would there be? No matter how much Warner tries to fuel the flames, in Wall Street's eyes they're just clowns. Strength determines everything, and Atari doesn't have that kind of strength!

At this point, Morgan's bigwigs were somewhat worried that John might interfere with the breakup of Bell Labs. After all, John was currently making moves in the semiconductor industry, and it wasn't impossible for him to intervene in Bell's breakup. It was based on this concern that they decided to throw a bone to John, and that bone was Bell Labs.

Even the Morgan executives were somewhat astonished by John's fundraising abilities. The fact that the Japanese bank provided two billion dollars in just a few days demonstrates the high regard the Japanese have for him!

While the game world is excellent and has immense potential, obtaining two billion yen from the Japanese bank in such a short time is no easy feat. It would be impossible without absolute recognition and trust.

With so many companies in the US, who could get such a huge loan from a Japanese bank? No one, not a single one. That's a demonstration of strength.

Morgan's intention to recommend Motorola and Bell Labs to John was not out of kindness, but rather a desire to use semiconductors and communications to contain John's growth. For Wall Street, John's development was too rapid, too fast for them to keep up with, so they wanted to slow him down!
Whether it's Motorola Semiconductor's research on chips or Bell Labs' research in communications and basic sciences, both require massive investment. If John takes on the project, a huge amount of capital will be needed, which will increase the share of the game world's financing and allow him to obtain more shares after the IPO.

To put it simply, while Morgan may seem to be acting in John's best interests, everything they do is actually for their own benefit. They want to extract more shares of the game world from John and gain more profits! Profit is the root of everything, and it is driven by profit that Morgan goes all out to help John complete the acquisition!

Looking at the Morgan representatives and the acquired assets in his hands, John was filled with emotion. Morgan had gone to great lengths for profit, completing the acquisition in such a short time—it was truly remarkable. Now it was time for him to fulfill his promise; he had to give them an explanation regarding the financing.

"I am personally very satisfied with Morgan's capabilities. The decision on the game world's financing has been made: 15% of the shares in the first round of financing will be awarded to the highest bidder! However, there is one point I need to clarify: this first round of financing not only involves US investment banks but also Japanese OEM companies. How many shares you can obtain depends on your respective capabilities!"

“Time, Mr. John, we need to know the exact timing of the game world's financing so we can prepare in advance. You should understand that we need to prepare funds in advance and also communicate with the board of directors!”

"Around mid-October, there's something I need to remind you of: the current valuation is a bit low, and the game world also has a new plan to release. If Morgan is interested in investing, be prepared. If you offer too low a price and the Japanese snatch up the share, don't blame me for not informing you in advance!"

Game World is preparing to open up a royalty system to bring those game companies that are barely surviving under its umbrella. Choosing to open up the game platform and establish a royalty system at this time will not only guarantee the quality of games on the Game World platform, but also increase Game World's revenue.

Currently, the massive gaming market is dominated by GameWorld, with a valuation of only a few billion, which greatly dissatisfies John. This doesn't reflect GameWorld's true value. The 1980s and 90s were the era of explosive growth for the gaming market, with astonishing revenues. GameWorld's current valuation is less than a tenth of that. The development of the gaming industry will exceed everyone's imagination, just like the personal computer industry, exceeding everyone's expectations.

"Mr. John, we are very interested in the financing of the game world. I wonder if you would be interested in acquiring Universal and NBC television networks?"

When John heard the other party mention Universal and NBC again, he couldn't help but sigh and say, "It would be a lie to say I don't have this idea, but you should understand that it's impossible for me, or even for Legendary Entertainment, to do so in the short term. Both Universal and NBC are internally divided, and even if we acquire them, they will only become a burden to Legendary Entertainment, not an asset!"

“Mr. John, we at Morgan have enjoyed working with you very much. We have considered all the problems you have raised and can also help you resolve them. As long as you are willing to acquire, all the problems are no longer problems. We can completely clean up these two companies before you acquire them to meet your requirements!”

"What? What did you say?" John was shocked, hardly believing his ears. Morgan was actually conducting a targeted purge of both Universal and NBC in preparation for his acquisitions? If that were true, even a higher debt level wouldn't be a problem, and a leveraged buyout wouldn't be an issue either! John's biggest worry was the personnel issues after the acquisitions. Both Universal and NBC were in chaos. Without purging some people, the companies simply couldn't function properly. Purge both companies was a serious matter, requiring a considerable price and potentially making the companies even more chaotic!

"Yes, you heard right. If you are interested in acquiring these two companies, Morgan Stanley is willing to help you communicate and conduct a targeted cleanup before the acquisition, so that it will not cause any trouble for your acquisition."

"This is insane! I can't believe you could make such a decision. I want to know why? Although the current economic climate isn't good, given Morgan's reputation, they shouldn't be willing to pay such a high price for this business!"

"Indeed, while this business with Morgan is very good, we value our friendship even more. Only through pleasant cooperation can we achieve deeper collaboration in the future. If we can arrange everything perfectly to your satisfaction, you will likely choose Morgan when your company goes public or seeks financing in the future, right?"

'Phew!' John finally breathed a sigh of relief. Morgan was indeed after the IPO and fundraising; it seemed they also saw the potential in Dreamworld and even Nvidia, which was exactly what John wanted. Both Dreamworld and Nvidia were companies that needed to go public. Getting the attention of Wall Street giants like Morgan at this point would make fundraising much easier—profit was the best-case scenario!

"No problem, I have a very pleasant working relationship with Morgan. Whether it's going public or raising funds, Morgan is always my first choice! However, I'd like to know how confident you are in cooperating with Legendary Entertainment to complete this acquisition?"

Although Morgan brought it up himself, John still wanted to confirm it again. This was no small matter; it concerned the future of Legendary Entertainment, and any problem could have serious consequences! Both Universal and NBC would need a purge, and this was definitely not a trivial matter!
"To say 100% would be a bit arrogant, but we are 90% confident. After all, anything can happen. If Legendary Entertainment decides to complete this acquisition, we will do our best to completely clean up the mess before the agreed time."

At this moment, John felt immense pressure. This was related to Legendary Entertainment as a whole, and even to his own media strategy. Unfortunately, this was a golden opportunity that, if missed, would never come again. This was Morgan's way of cleaning out two major companies for him, so he didn't need to bear too much pressure!

“Okay, as long as the price is right, Legendary Entertainment agrees to acquire Universal and NBC. If possible, I hope to see them complete their purge of senior management by early next year. I believe that with Morgan’s capabilities, a few months will be enough to fulfill our agreement!”

The biggest problem for Legendary Entertainment is the top management of the two companies. If they don't cooperate, the problem will be huge. So as long as the purge of the top management can be completed, everything is worthwhile, even if it causes some turmoil. John can accept the initial growing pains.

"Hahaha! We at Morgan Stanley have always been fair in our dealings. We will definitely give Legendary Entertainment the most suitable price. $40 billion is a reasonable price, after all, we need to help Legendary Entertainment complete its cleanup!"

The $40 billion package deal between the two companies wasn't too expensive, but it wasn't cheap either. Fortunately, Morgan offered additional services, so John could accept the price. He nodded and said, "It's indeed very reasonable. The purge of the top management must be completed; that's the bottom line!"

Jimmy had expected to argue with John about the price, but the result shocked him. Looking at John's calm face, he realized how big the gap was between them. John had agreed to $40 billion without even thinking about it. This was truly remarkable.

$40 billion, not $40. And if John had been willing to haggle, he might have been able to negotiate a lower price, but that didn't happen; John agreed immediately.

(End of this chapter)