America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 616 MGM Conference

At 7 p.m. sharp, the MGM Grand New York building was still brightly lit.

The atmosphere in the conference room was somber. Frank Mancuso sat at the head of the table, flanked by senior executives from the New York branch.

On the projection screen directly in front of the conference table, the meeting scene at the MGM Group headquarters was clearly displayed, with Robert Iger's figure occupying the center of the image.

Beside him stood the heads of various departments of the group, including the legal department, finance department, strategic planning department, and others, each with an unusually serious expression.

Ernst told him to report Long-Term Capital's big news, and he dared not, nor could he, resist.

The key issue is that MGM is not like other companies under Ernst's name; it is a giant enterprise with media business at its core, and the most important part of its revenue comes from GG.

The stability of GG's business depends directly on the trust and support of its numerous partners and customers.

Long-Term Capital Management, the hedge fund that has risen rapidly in the past few years and created a Wall Street wealth myth, is no stranger to any of the MGM executives present.

Quantum Fund, Tiger Fund, Moore Capital, Tudor Investments, and Caxton are collectively known as the five major hedge funds on Wall Street, and are highly regarded.

However, if we only consider the scale of wealth under management, Long-Term Capital Management is truly the undisputed number one hedge fund on Wall Street.

The size of the assets under its management is comparable to that of the Quantum Fund and Tiger Fund combined.

One reason it is not among the top five hedge funds is that it rose too quickly. It was established just over five years ago, and its real reputation has only emerged in the last three years.

Compared to established hedge funds with decades of history and deep roots, Long-Term Capital Management's experience does seem somewhat young.

Another point is that the amount of funds it manages is too large, and the growth rate is too fast, far exceeding that of the second-ranked Quantum Fund. Compared with the top five funds, it feels like a small horse and a large cart.

Finally, there's the matter of connections. Although Merryweather proved himself during his time at the Salomon Brothers, he also had his share of failures, which led to the layoff of his entire department.

This instability requires him to prove it again.

You can make money in a bull market, but what about in a bear market?

However, none of this affects the fact that Long-Term Capital's clients are mostly large institutions, large enterprises, and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.

These people are capable of influencing MGM's revenue.

"Arthur, you go first," Robert Iger's voice came from the screen.

"According to our urgent analysis, among our long-term partners, three large financial institutions are core clients of Long-Term Capital Management."

"These three institutions each invest more than five million US dollars in our group's GG every year, making them important partners in the financial industry." Arthur's voice was somewhat cold, or rather, he was not in a good mood.

"Besides these three financial institutions, as many as 21 of Long-Term Capital's individual clients have direct or indirect connections with our GG business partners."

"This includes Roger Enrico, CEO of PepsiCo. He and Merryweather have been friends for many years. He was one of the earliest investors in Long-Term Capital Management and one of the core clients who earned substantial returns from Long-Term Capital Management's investments."

"Based on the information I've gathered, he has at least $1200 million in personal funds managed by Long-Term Capital Management."

"$1200?"

Many people's faces darkened upon hearing this, and some even gasped in shock.

MGM had just reached an agreement with PepsiCo on a GG collaboration for an esports live streaming project and signed a memorandum of understanding when it snatched away $1200 million from PepsiCo's CEO.

This contract is largely difficult to enforce.

The two parties signed a memorandum of understanding, but the money hasn't been transferred yet, so they could back out at any time.

"However, the biggest contract came from Morgan Stanley, who is our largest GG sponsor, with an annual GG budget of $2300 million across MGM's various media platforms."

Arthur paused for a moment, then looked at Robert Iger. "Finally, there are our shareholders. Nearly 3% of the shareholders will be directly affected by Long-Term Capital Management."

Now everyone's attention was on Robert Iger, and they could all feel the pressure on him.

Removing him is impossible.

As long as Chairman Ernst remains steadfast and MGM continues to thrive, it will be impossible for all these shareholders to unite.

But they also knew that these people would bombard Robert Iger with calls, pressuring him to stop reporting, or even to spread lies and admit to reporting errors.

As for Ernst, the one who started it all?

Who would dare to go looking for trouble?

Robert Iger, however, didn't seem to feel any pressure at all, and said with a smile, "We are the news media, not the mouthpiece of financial institutions."

His gaze was unwavering: "The collapse of Long-Term Capital was not accidental; it was the result of high leverage, greed, and a lack of regulation. Even if we choose to remain silent, the truth will eventually be revealed."

He then looked at the general counsel and asked, "What about your side?"

General Counsel Lux said with a relaxed expression, "As soon as our report is published, Long-Term Capital Management's legal team will definitely send us a lawyer's letter immediately, accusing our report of being defamatory."

He tapped the screen, looking at the folder in front of Frank Mancuso, and said, "But even if this evidence goes to court, we're not afraid."

Robert Iger and Frank Mancuso's eyes lit up instantly; they understood what he meant.

Frank went even further, saying, "You mean, make a big deal out of this?"

Lux nodded. "From the perspective of maximizing influence and benefits, going to court would be most advantageous for us."

MGM has evidence and is not afraid of losing the case; on the contrary, it is a powerful and fatal blow.

The incident has blown up, allowing MGM's CNBS news channel to leverage this event to attract viewers who are interested in this topic and significantly increase the channel's subscriptions.

First, there was an exclusive leak, then there were questions raised, verbal battles ensued, the matter went to court, and finally MGM delivered a fatal blow, ruining Longtime Capital's reputation.

The tension is immense, and it's eye-catching enough.

"I think it's a good idea," Robert Iger said decisively.

"When you report, you need to be careful with your words. Don't report those detailed, specific data."

"And the radio alliance, we also need to make sure they know how to handle things properly."

Frank Mancuso nodded. "I know what to do."

"As for those radio stations, they haven't received the shared data yet. Whatever we give them, that's all they can know."

Just then, the head of the news department suddenly spoke up, saying, "We can do a special program instead of focusing on the news."

"Please have some financial experts analyze what impact a long-term capital crisis would have on the United States."

"Ernst's intention was to make this a big deal, and I think that would be more effective."

"Even if Long-Term Capital sues us, we can find experts to debate the issue and generate buzz."

"It's not just about reporting on the collapse of Long-Term Capital Management; it's also about delving into the underlying financial system issues."

He looked at Frank Mancuso and said, "If we could interview insiders at Long-Term Capital, especially the big names, and give them a little hint on the show, the program would be explosive."

Frank Mancuso knew who he was talking about, pointing directly to the provider of the material.

However, he could only smile wryly and say, "Ernst didn't tell us how this material came about."

Frank paused for a moment, then his brow furrowed slightly before relaxing.

"But I remember that Ernst's bodyguard gave it to him, so I might be able to contact him through him."

"Since the other party has produced this material, it means that long-term capital simply cannot stay. Perhaps they will do it for the money."

"Then it's decided." Robert Iger glanced at his watch. "It's 7:23 now, 8:30. I'm going to spread this news throughout America."