Reborn in 2010, the AI ​​in my mind is too powerful.

Chen Yiran thought the next few months would go smoothly: acquiring Warner, securing drone distribution channels in the Gulf, and finally getting his home on Lanai Island repaired.

However, things didn't go as planned, and things went wrong right from the start. According to previous communications with Warner Bros. executives, the two sides should have started negotiating after the release of Man of Steel.

However, the performance of Superman: Man of Steel was not ideal, only average, and its reputation was polarized. It cannot be said that it was a complete flop, but rather that its future is promising.

As DC's flagship IP, it only achieved a mediocre box office result after investing heavily in filming and promotion.

Warner Bros. has pulled another stunt, saying that the DC Universe is not yet complete and that they can wait until Wonder Woman or even Justice League are released to fully realize their value before considering selling the company.

Apple's strategy department held several talks, and later Disney's head Iger and Cook personally visited to discuss the matter, but ultimately they still couldn't get Warner's current CEO and chairman Jeffrey Bix to agree.

Chen Yiran made a special trip to Apple headquarters to attend a meeting regarding the follow-up process.

Apple's top executives at all levels are in complete agreement: they must make the acquisition. This is partly due to the large amount of cash they have on hand. Cash is the most important asset a company can have, and ample cash flow allows the company to operate more flexibly.

That's why companies like Microsoft can still carve out a path to success by using money, even when there are massive and huge mistakes like the 360 ​​Red Ring of Death incident.

However, having too much cash is a problem. Apple's cash flow is currently experiencing inflation and devaluation every day, which is causing some anxiety among executives.

Netflix's Reed Hastings held a different opinion. He wasn't against the acquisition; they felt that while Warner Bros. was good, Paramount was also a good option. Paramount's parent company, Viacom, is one of the world's three largest media companies, after Warner Bros. and Disney.

Furthermore, Disney and Paramount have always had a good relationship, because Marvel handled the copyright disputes to the extreme; the first four Marvel movies were co-released with Paramount. They also own very good IPs like Mission: Impossible and Transformers.

Moreover, the television stations they own are all purely entertainment stations like MTV, so the political risk of acquiring them is relatively lower.

Eagle, however, believes this is not advisable: "Although they are cheaper, costing only over 30 billion US dollars, I estimate we could get them for 40 billion, but Transformers' appeal is too weak, and there's also the entanglement with Hasbro. One of Warner Bros.' most important assets to us is Harry Potter."

With this park, Disneyland will further solidify its advantage among amusement parks. It will also be a blow to Universal Studios, whose traffic largely depends on Harry Potter.

"We know Warner is better, but we just can't buy it."

"If they activate the poison pill plan, we will be in a very passive position, and it will also damage our image in the eyes of the public."

"How about we try talking to them first? We could at least try contacting Paramount."

"The monopoly issue is very serious. If the other party cooperates, that's fine. But if they don't, even if we propose an acquisition, we may not be able to get past the Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice."

It's fair to say that most people present supported Reed Hastings. Apple has had it too easy these past few years; frankly, they've become less interested in tackling tough challenges and are used to going with the flow.

Reed Hastings continued to describe Paramount's strengths: "There's another thing. While having both Marvel and DC seems great, we can't simply merge the two storylines. It's too difficult to control the plot; it's easy to get out of control. I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's definitely very challenging."

Paramount still holds the distribution rights to several future Marvel films; acquiring them would be a better option.

Seeing that he had no supporters, Igor turned his gaze to Chen Yiran, and everyone in the conference room looked over as well, waiting for Chen Yiran to make a decision.

Chen Yiran looked at the documents while discussing with Jasmine.

I don't think there's a problem. Warner Bros. is still better; Paramount isn't very appealing. If there were a choice, acquiring 20th Century Fox earlier would have been better.

"Impossible, Murdoch is not going to sell now. I also tend to buy Warner. I think since Disney was able to buy Warner later, this monopoly issue shouldn't be a big problem, and the Federal Trade Commission can approve it."

"Now it's just a TV station. If all else fails, and there are political risks involved, should we dismantle the TV station?"

It seems this is the only way. The TV station is secondary; our main objective is still Harry Potter.

Chen Yiran tapped the table twice and said, "Let's take Warner! Don't always think about finding the easiest way. There's an old Chinese saying that you won't get a job that's easy, pays well, and close to home. The situation is the same now. How can we expect good things to just fall into our laps?"

We have too much cash on hand, and we will make more acquisitions in the future. It's impossible for someone to scare us back with a poison pill plan.

I looked at the data and found that Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street, Capital Group, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Warner's top shareholders are all asset management companies.

They would certainly be inclined to agree to our acquisition; who wouldn't want to build a mega-trust?

Jeffrey Bix and his ilk, who ignored shareholder advice and caused trouble, were simply replaced after the acquisition. Although Warner's top management is incredibly incompetent, we can promise them that we will not touch Warner's top management for three years after the acquisition. After three years, we will decide their future based on their performance.

The political risk mainly concerns CNN, but we can always break it up. Compared to Harry Potter, CNN is nothing. Eagle and Cook, you two stay behind; the rest of you can go.

Seeing that Chen Yiran had made a decision, everyone stopped talking and began to leave the meeting room.

After everyone left, Chen Yiran said, "You two go talk to Jeffrey Bix again and see how things go. Then, regardless of whether they agree or not, start contacting Warner's shareholders at all levels. They probably can't win the votes."

Iger nodded: "I think they'll play the political card. CNN and we actually have a good relationship, but the Democrats may not necessarily want changes, especially since you have a good relationship with the Republicans. You'll have to handle this; Cook and I might not be qualified."

"Okay, I'll find someone first. We don't want to keep it in our hands. We just need permission to split it up and acquire it."