America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 14.14. I want to borrow 2 billion.

Beverly Hills, the Cooper family home.

It was 4 a.m., and the father and son had been talking for a long time and had reached an agreement.

Charlie Cooper was finally persuaded. His ambition burned brightly in his chest. It was just a high-stakes gamble, after all.

His son won 11 billion from the World Cup, and he believed that with the father and son working together, plus his inside information, there was still a chance of successfully acquiring MGM.

Through his conversation with his father, Eric also learned about MGM's current predicament, which can be described as teetering on the brink of collapse.

Last year, although it made a lot of money with "Legally Blonde" and "Hannibal", all of the films released in the same year, such as "Original Sin", "The Heartbreakers", and "The Thief and the Thief", suffered losses.

"Original Sin" starred Angelina Jolie and had a total investment of $5000 million, but it only grossed $3500 million worldwide, resulting in a loss of $3000 million.

"Stealing Hearts" had a total investment of $40 million and a global box office of $57 million, resulting in a loss of over $10 million.

The total investment for "The Thief Met a Thief" was nearly $8000 million, but its global box office was a paltry $3800 million, a complete financial disaster.

So MGM didn't make much money in 2001. From 2002 to the present, MGM has released films such as "Rush", "The Battle of Hart", "Kill Your Tenderness", and "Windtalkers".

"Rush" had a total investment of $1 million but only grossed $2500 million worldwide, resulting in a huge loss.

"The Battle of Hart," starring Bruce Willis, had a total investment of $1.1 million and grossed only $3200 million worldwide, resulting in another huge loss.

The director of "Kill Your Tenderness" is Chen Kaige, never mind.

Adding to the already disastrous failure of "Windtalkers," MGM has been operating at a loss for six months.

However, among the movies scheduled for release in the second half of the year are "Red Dragon" and "Barbershop," one planned for release in October and the other in November.

According to memory, both of these films were hugely profitable. If MGM had waited until then, the acquisition would have become much more difficult. Therefore, now is the best time to acquire them.

"Dad, if I remember correctly, Kirk Kerkelion and his close family and cronies control more than 80% of MGM's shares."

Harry Cooper shook his head: "It's not just 80%, to be precise, 92% is directly or indirectly controlled by him. MGM is essentially his sole owner."

"So, in other words, once we get Kerkelien on board, the acquisition will proceed without any obstacles, right?"

"You could say that, and there's also some good news that's very helpful to us. Kerkelien's hotel business has been doing poorly lately, and coupled with MGM's losses, he's considering selling MGM again."

Eric frowned slightly: "What does this 'again' mean?"

Harry Cooper immediately recounted MGM's history, revealing that MGM had been acquired by Kerkelion in 1970 due to its financial situation.

However, this guy had no interest in movies; his focus remained on the casino and hotel businesses.

The reason for buying MGM was partly because they coveted the land owned by MGM, which they could use directly to build hotels, saving them a lot of trouble.

On the other hand, it is naturally used for money laundering. Since the birth of movies, it has been one of the best money laundering tools.

As a gambling tycoon, Kerkorian naturally needed such a professional money laundering tool.

In the years that followed, Kerkelien sold and bought back MGM several times, going through decades of ups and downs. It's no wonder the company couldn't develop.

Affected by 9/11 and other events, the hotel and entertainment industry across the United States has recently declined. In order to revitalize its hotels, Kerkelien naturally came up with the idea of ​​selling MGM again.

After a moment's thought, Eric hatched a wicked plan: "Dad, is there any way to get inside information about the MGM Hotel?"

Without a second thought, Harry Cooper replied, "Impossible. Although there are quite a few people at MGM who were placed there by Kerkorian, these guys don't know the situation, and I'm not familiar with the hotel business either. I don't have any connections in this industry."

"Actually, instead of going to great lengths to get inside information, it would be better to just confront Kerkorian directly. After all, I've worked for him for over a decade, and I believe he'll give me some face."

I woke up around noon. It's the weekend, and Charlotte Cooper is too lazy to go to the office.

At the dinner table, Emily looked at the two of them suspiciously: "What are you whispering about? Are you hiding something from me?"

"I don't have a mother, we were just talking about work. I think developing a career in the entertainment industry would be a good option."

My mother never worries about my son's job. In her opinion, with his outstanding qualities, he can succeed in any industry.

After lunch, Eric drove his father directly to Citibank, where he had $3.3 million in savings.

Because I had called ahead, the Citibank manager made a special trip over even though it was the weekend.

As soon as I entered, I was led into the VIP room, where a smart, middle-aged man in a suit and tie immediately stood up to greet me.

Upon seeing Charlie Cooper, he paused in surprise: "Mr. Cooper, you guys?"

Charlie Cooper shook hands with the other person: "Eric is my son."

The manager looked the two of them up and down for a while before sitting down with some surprise: "I never expected that our mysterious big client would be your son. Your upbringing is truly outstanding."

Clearly, in the manager's view, the $3.3 million deposit was the work of Harry Cooper.

After all, such a large sum of money is barely reasonable for a CEO. But if the recipient is a recent college graduate, the manager might call the police.

The female employee with black-rimmed glasses put down her coffee and stood to the side with a smile.

Studies have shown that the success rate of a transaction is always a few percentage points higher when in front of a beautiful woman.

"Mr. Cooper, what kind of business are you looking to conduct? I have a few products here."

Before the manager could finish speaking, Charlie Cooper decisively interrupted him: "A loan, I want a loan."

Upon hearing this, the manager hesitated before saying, "Mr. Cooper, given MGM's current situation, I'm afraid Citibank..."

Charlie Cooper interrupted him again: "No, I'm the one who wants the loan."

The manager and the female employee in black stockings were both stunned for a moment, thinking, "They're so rich, why are they still taking out loans?"

"Mr. Cooper, how much would you like to borrow?"

"The more the better. If Citibank could lend me 20 billion, that would be ideal."

Fortunately, I didn't drink coffee, otherwise I definitely would have spat it out. But the manager maintained excellent professional ethics, especially when dealing with such a big client.

The manager didn't refuse outright, but instead tentatively asked, "Mr. Cooper, could you please explain the purpose of your loan? We also need a risk assessment."

Harry Cooper briefly described the acquisition plan, and also told a little white lie: "It is indeed a bold plan, but I have already raised $11 billion, and Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs have both decided to lend me money. Now it depends on the sincerity of Citigroup."

In the blink of an eye, the roles of offense and defense were reversed.

The manager swallowed hard. "Mr. Cooper, I don't have that much authority. I need to consult headquarters."

(End of this chapter)