The American Kill Line: I Can Predict the Future

Chapter 99 Monsters Arrive in Hollywood

With the two major military-industrial complexes and two major financial conglomerates taking the lead, many more will send "gifts" to Ron.

There are chaebols and family trusts of giant corporations.

The gifts they gave were all sorts of things: real estate, land, and projects.

Even female celebrities receive gifts.

The fund has a limited number of units, and Ron is unlikely to accept them unless absolutely necessary.

Or perhaps the gifts these people gave him failed to move him.

He earned $8 million last month, bringing his available funds to $18 billion.

Mellon Bank also has an unsecured $10 billion.

With $28 billion at his disposal, Ron can finally do a lot of things.

First, they sent $4 million back to Texas.

Old Hunter talked to many energy companies that were about to go bankrupt, and the oil refinery deal was basically finalized as well.

We're just waiting for the money to arrive so we can sign the contract.

With the payment delayed, old Hunter even wondered if his youngest son had bankrupted him again.

Tesla's current market capitalization is $22 billion.

According to the agreement, if the price is less than $20, it will be purchased at $20.

The number of shareholders who want to cash out is approximately 11%, or $2.2 million.

Adding in the shares I've bought on the secondary market over the past six months, it's exactly enough to meet the agreed-upon value of 15%.

Before that, Ron needs to go to IMG.

The previously agreed-upon $3 million purchase of a 30% stake was intended for company operations.

He paid the first installment of $1 million.

Now IMG has proactively submitted its financial report, requesting a second payment.

Coincidentally, Ron also wanted to meet the terminally ill Mr. Forsterman.

Private hospital ward.

Upon learning that Ron was coming, members of the Forsterman family also rushed over.

There was Ted Forsterman's brother and two sisters, as well as two adopted sons.

Especially the two adopted sons, their eyes filled with barely concealed hatred as they looked at Ron.

Ron entered, arm in arm with Alexandra. He glanced around before his gaze settled on Ted.

This is also the only thing in the room that deserves Ron's attention.

"Mr. Anthony Forsterman."

Ron walked into the ward and greeted the seventy-year-old man.

Forsterman was once a well-known hedge fund manager on Wall Street.

At its peak in the mid-1980s, the fund's size reached $5 billion.

It was one of the largest and top-performing institutional investment management platforms on Wall Street at the time, with an annualized compound return of up to 22% on its portfolio, outperforming all monitored investment institutions in the United States in the balanced account category.

But that's how the financial market is; there are no invincible generals.

In the early 1990s, Anthony resigned as general manager of the fund due to several significant losses.

He then went on to work in the private equity investment field.

By the late 1990s, the private equity funds under management exceeded $8 billion.

The good times didn't last long; a dot-com bubble caused huge losses for the fund.

They were later sued by the Connecticut pension fund for "negligence and breach of contract".

This crisis also directly led to the collapse of trust between him and his institutional investors.

Although Anthony has completely left Wall Street, he still retains some relatively high-quality assets.

IMG is one of them, and he personally holds 20% of the shares.

"Mr. Hunter," Anthony said with a smile, looking at the young man before him.

Ron nodded slightly and walked towards the hospital bed.

Alexandra placed the flowers on the bedside table beside her.

Ron greeted the barely conscious Ted Forsterman in a soft voice, "Mr. Forsterman, I am Ron."

Ted opened his eyes slightly, as if this small movement had used up all his strength. His mouth moved, but no sound could be heard.

An elderly woman with red eyes leaned over and listened for a while by the hospital bedside.

He still didn't hear it and shook his head slightly at Ron.

Anthony walked toward Ron: "Please forgive me, Mr. Hunter, Ted is too tired."

"I apologize for disturbing you."

"6

The two left the ward and went to the rest room next door.

"Everest and Shia are young, so please forgive them if they have offended you in any way."

Anthony was referring to the way the two adopted sons treated Ron in the hospital room earlier.

"They must be Mr. Forsterman's adopted sons?" Ron asked, walking up to the coffee machine and making coffee.

“Yes, they’re just adopted sons.” Anthony sensed the underlying meaning in those words and scoffed, “But some people are just never satisfied and can’t see the truth.”

Ron handed over the brewed coffee: "After all, the law grants adopted children the right to inherit."

"Thank you!" Anthony said, raising his glass in a toast: "To the federal law!"

The law is the law, let alone an adopted son.

For many true tycoons, even their own children may not be able to inherit their fortunes smoothly.

The two chatted idly, exchanging a few words.

Because of the IMG incident last year, Anthony has been paying attention to Ron in recent months.

The strategy of ceding territory and cities was Anthony's suggestion to his brother.

It's not the best, but it's the most suitable.

With no heir, relying on the two adopted sons would be tantamount to squandering the family fortune on feeding dogs.

Anthony himself is getting old, and several failures have left him with little energy to focus on management.

Therefore, the best outcome for IMG would be to find a suitable opportunity to sell it after the brother's death.

Anthony knows all too well what kind of people on Wall Street are like; the day IMG came under scrutiny, its fate was already sealed.

The only thing IMG can do is seek peace for now.

Then, by utilizing the other party's funds, we can resolve IMG's current predicament.

After all, selling now and selling later are two completely different things.

A 30% stake means exchanging time for the future value of IMG.

What Anthony didn't expect was that Ron's rise was too rapid.

So fast that he didn't even have time to react before news of Soros's "defeat" spread.

In just a few months, he went from a Wall Street upstart to a behemoth.

When Anthony learned yesterday that Ron was coming, he knew that IMG was doomed.

After the small talk, Anthony got straight to the point.

"Ted's condition is not optimistic; the doctor says he has at most a year left. IMG is leaderless, and I'm too old to manage it. The descendants of the Forsterman family are also not good at business. I want to take this opportunity to put IMG up for sale. Ron, you are the major shareholder, so I definitely need to seek your advice."

Having stated his position clearly, Ron nodded slightly and asked, "And the price?"

"How about $15 billion? That's the valuation Yahoo was looking to acquire in 2008."

This price is $5 million more expensive than when Ron bought it last year.

But that's not how you calculate it.

Ron's 30% stake doesn't give him much control; it's an investment.

It's the same principle as TPG acquiring a 35% stake in CAA for less than $200 million.

Now it's a complete sale, a completely different concept.

Ron shook his head slightly: "15 billion US dollars is too little, let's make it 18 billion US dollars."

Anthony paused for a moment, then nodded readily, "Thank you!"

He didn't understand Ron's plan and thought Ron was kind-hearted.

It's not that Ron has too much money, but after comprehensive consideration, increasing IMG's valuation is the optimal choice.

First, there's the public opinion. Yahoo offered $15 billion back then, during the subprime mortgage crisis.

Selling it for $15 billion now is bound to draw criticism from the media.

Secondly, and most importantly, CAA is valued at $10 billion.

The other two founders together hold 30%, while 15% is held by some top agents.

Once the two companies merge, Ron must maintain absolute control.

Increasing the valuation of the IMG acquisition is the best solution.

Of course, he can also use a series of means to force a takeover and compel the other party to sell its shares.

But then it loses its meaning.

CAA is not a building, nor is it a fixed asset.

Its core is "people".

Therefore, the two founders, along with their partner brokers, must stay.

You cannot leave for at least 5 years.

The optimal solution is to dilute their shares, gain absolute control, and offer them a promising future.

Two days later, IMG made the announcement.

"Due to CEO and Chairman of the Board Ted Forsterman being diagnosed with late-stage brain cancer, the Board of Directors has decided to put IMG up for sale!"

""

The news caused a sensation in the sports and fashion worlds.

IMG is one of the world's top four brokerage firms, with annual revenue exceeding $12 billion and net profit of $1.1 million.

The fact that it is now being sold off entirely has inevitably attracted the attention of industry insiders.

A few days later, news broke again that Hunter Capital had made an acquisition.

Ron, along with Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase, acquired IMG for a valuation of $18 billion.

From the initial listing to the acquisition, the entire process took only one week.

The speed of the move caught many companies that were planning to poach or acquire the company off guard.

IMG completed the power transition at the fastest possible speed.

It was hailed by the media as the fastest acquisition in nearly a decade.

If IMG's acquisitions were limited to the sports and fashion industries...

Then the next piece of news exploded like a missile throughout the entire entertainment industry.

There were no signs, no warnings.

An unprecedented "monster" suddenly appeared.

The fashion world, the sports world, and even all the talent agencies and film production companies in Hollywood across the United States showed signs of terror when faced with this "monster"!

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