America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 180, Section 179: Equity Swap, Using Someone Else to Kill

Four days passed in the blink of an eye. During that time, Eric spent his time either returning to the set of "House of Cards" or spending time with Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and the Olsen twins.

Rolling three times in four days, each time for several hours, even the donkey has to kneel down and foam at the mouth when it comes.

Dealing with four women and such an intense workload, even with the support of health-preserving wine and green juice, still left him feeling exhausted.

But there was nothing I could do. I'd been dealing with Mikey's stuff for a while and had neglected a few women.

The fields lack irrigation, so I, as a farmer, must plow the land and loosen the soil properly.

Fortunately, Gadot hasn't come back yet, otherwise she would be working non-stop and wouldn't get a single day of rest.

The North American box office results for Get Out in its second week are in. Although it dropped, the drop was smaller than expected, at around 34%.

The Black community has been very supportive, and the topic of racial discrimination has generated a lot of social discussion.

As word spread, many white people also went to the cinema to see for themselves.

It ultimately grossed $3400 million, continuing to lead the box office and taking the top spot for the second consecutive week.

"Pirates of the Caribbean" remains in second place, with the Black Pearl showing no signs of slowing down and continuing to rake in over $1700 million at the box office.

This shows that truly well-received blockbusters have both explosive and sustained box office potential.

Movies like "Get Out," "Saw," and "Sharknado," which are more horror-themed and unconventional, generally only have explosive power and lack staying power. Their box office potential will be exhausted in a month or a little over.

As for Tobey Maguire's "Seabiscuit," with a box office of less than ten million dollars, hardly anyone cares about it anymore.

At the MGM Grand, Chen Xing led Isaac Perlmutter and Avi Arad into his office.

Eric stood up and shook hands with the two men to greet them.

These two people gave Eric completely different feelings.

Isaac Perlmutter was dressed in a sharp brown suit, shiny black leather shoes, and his hair was neatly combed.

The man's face gave off a sharp and sinister feeling, and Eric could sense the cunning in his eyes. In short, he was dressed like a very proper businessman.

Avi Arad, on the other hand, had a full beard, with a stubble on his chin as long as a finger.

He was wearing a sports short-sleeved shirt and casual shoes with Captain America printed on them. He didn't look like a company executive; he looked more like an old nerd.

"Hello Mr. Cooper, it's an honor to meet you."

"Hello, Mr. Cooper."

Even the way they greet each other gives people completely different feelings.

The three of them sat down, exchanged pleasantries about how much they had heard of each other, and then got down to business.

Isaac Perlmutter began, "Mr. Cooper, you probably already know why we're here. It's mainly about Marvel's investment."

"Marvel is on a very good track record right now, and our performance has been steadily improving over the past three years."

"Spider-Man and Blade have achieved tremendous success in film and television adaptations in recent years, as someone in the industry, you know that best."

"So Marvel is preparing to reboot its film and television division, and we intend to collaborate with major Hollywood studios to bring superheroes to the big screen."

"We are now planning to develop Thor and Captain America, two very well-known comic book characters. Any comic book fan would be interested in them."

As he spoke, Isaac Perlmutter handed Eric a financial statement, which indeed showed that the company had been profitable for three consecutive years.

However, this thing works for most people, and Eric is not ignorant about it; he even did his research on Marvel beforehand.

Don't you have any self-awareness about why you've been profitable for three consecutive years?

That's because it's hit rock bottom. What else can it do but rebound?

If it falls any further, it will be the eighteenth level of hell. Any normal, well-behaved business owner could turn the company into a profitable one.

Therefore, this thing has no credibility.

Eric glanced at it briefly and tossed it aside, looking at the other man with amusement: "Mr. Perlmutter, this thing is far less valuable than the S&P 500 index, so I don't think it's necessary to look at it."

"Let's talk about your thoughts. What kind of collaboration does Marvel plan to take? What reasons do you intend to use to convince me to invest?"

Isaac Perlmutter was not embarrassed by Eric's words; he continued speaking with a calm expression.

"Our proposed collaboration model involves Marvel providing copyright and related comic book knowledge support, and covering 50% of the filming and marketing costs."

"MGM will cover the remaining 50% of the filming and marketing costs, and the filming process will be jointly controlled by both of us."

"We split the box office revenue equally between our two companies, and Marvel owns the film and television rights. However, the sequel will still be a joint production between our two companies."

Before Isaac Perlmutter could finish speaking, Eric was already sneering inwardly, but out of respect for his position, he couldn't roll his eyes at him.

What kind of bullshit proposal is this? If we follow this plan, I'll be working for you instead.

If the copyright belongs to MGM, then there's still room for negotiation; but if the copyright still belongs to Marvel, then I'm not a pure Joker.

After chuckling a few times, Eric said, "Mr. Perlmutter, conditions should be proposed from the perspective of one's proper position."

"What gives you the right to make these demands? Where does your confidence come from? This is not ten years ago; the environment has changed."

"I think you should face reality. The era of comics has long since passed, and Marvel is no longer the market leader it once was."

"So my advice is to be pragmatic, otherwise this meeting could end sooner rather than later."

Avi Arad quickly explained, "Mr. Cooper, the era of comics may be over, but the era of superhero movies has just begun."

「去年夏天的蜘蛛侠全球狂揽8.5亿美元的票房，刀锋战士1拿下1.7亿美元票房，刀锋战士2拿下1.5亿美元的票房。」

"X-Men 1 grossed $4.2 million, and X-Men 2 this year also grossed $4 million."

"The potential of superhero movies has been widely recognized by the market, and people still love superheroes."

"So the collaboration is beneficial to both sides. Thor and Captain America are just as famous as Spider-Man, and the movie will definitely bring MGM a lot of money."

"1 million dollars, 2 million dollars, or even more than 3 million dollars, you should really think about this."

"What about the Hulk? Is the Hulk less famous than Spider-Man?" Eric countered.

After a moment's hesitation, Avi Arad replied, "Of course not. According to the survey, if aliens were to attack Earth, people believe the Hulk would be the first to jump out and protect everyone."

"So, how do you explain the Hulk's disastrous failure? It happened this June, during the summer season, but the movie still cost Universal tens of millions of dollars."

"And Spawn, Punisher, Duke of Hell, etc., none of them made money."

"Overall, the market prospects for superhero movies are not bright, and most of them still lose money. Moreover, the investment is often over 100 million, which is too risky."

"Gentlemen, I'd like to ask which film you're planning to make, and what the estimated budget is?"

Avi Arad was speechless when asked the question, to which Isaac Perlmutter replied, "It would be best if Thor and Captain America filmed together."

"Thor is set in a fantasy world involving the Nine Realms and the World Tree. It will use a lot of special effects, with an estimated investment of $1 million."

"While Captain America can save a lot of special effects, it is set in World War II and will involve war scenes."

"Props, costumes, extras, sets, etc. will be a major expense, with an estimated investment of $1.2 million."

Seeing Eric staring at him expressionlessly, Isaac Perlmutter suddenly felt a little guilty and changed his mind, saying, "Actually, a smaller investment should be fine, I think $1 million is also possible."

Noticing that Eric's gaze was still sharp, he changed his tune, saying, "With a bid of $8000 million, we can simplify some scenes appropriately."

Avi Arad immediately panicked: "8000 million won't do. If the movie doesn't turn out well, it's better not to make it at all. We can't afford to ruin our reputation any further."

Isaac Perlmutter quietly tapped his leg from below, signaling Avi Arad to be quiet.

Let's get the money first, then we can always make more investment during filming. It's not hard to find a reason.

How was Cameron's "Titanic" made? It wasn't like he could get a $2 million investment on his first try. In the end, he had to force Paramount and Fox to put up the money.

You're saying you won't finish filming if you don't want to pay, and you're ignoring sunk costs? Are you saying the initial investment will go down the drain?

The two were also quite helpless, as Marvel was simply too poor right now, with a maximum of $5000 million in liquid funds available on its books.

To think you could make a superhero blockbuster with this little money is simply a pipe dream.

They didn't want to sell the copyrights or use them as collateral for bank loans, so they could only try to fool various film and television companies to see if any fools would fall for it.

Eric is so young, he should be easier to fool than the old foxes in other companies.

"Mr. Cooper, you could actually start by making one. MGM would only need to invest $4000 million, and you could quickly reap a return of hundreds of millions of dollars."

Eric had no intention of discussing the matter further with the two men, who were indulging in such a daydream.

He interrupted him directly: "Mr. Perlmutter, stop for a moment. Let's end the lobbying here. I have absolutely no interest in your cooperation proposal."

"But I also have a proposal; would you be willing to hear it?"

The two paused for a moment, then nodded.

"As businessmen, we are all in it for money and profit, but Marvel's development has been very sluggish in recent years, so you haven't made any money."

"Now that superhero movies are gaining popularity, they want a piece of the pie but lack the funds and can't afford any risks, so they have to find other partners, right?"

Isaac Perlmutter nodded slightly, while Avi Arad remained silent.

"There's no such thing as a free lunch. You can't make money without taking any risks. So here's my advice."

"Sell your shares to me, and I can buy them at a premium. You can cash out and leave, each receiving several hundred million dollars to return to Beachy Toys as executives."

"As for Marvel, this hot potato, let's just pass it on to MGM. After all, you haven't been able to manage it for years, which can only prove two things."

"First, Marvel has long been unable to adapt to the market environment; second, you simply don't have the ability to manage it well."

"Instead of letting it become an uncontrollable burden, it's better to get rid of it sooner rather than later. It's a good thing to get rid of this burden, isn't it?"

"As for the risks, MGM will bear them alone. Whether it's Spider-Man or Hulk, that's my business."

"Think it over carefully; it's a reasonable suggestion."

After Eric finished speaking, the two looked at each other in bewilderment.

They came to attract investment, how did it suddenly turn into them being acquired? This isn't how the script goes.

But upon reflection, the proposal still seemed quite tempting, especially since Eric said he was willing to pay a premium for it.

If they're willing to give more, it's not something we can't consider.

After a long silence, just as Eric was about to see him off, Isaac Perlmutter suddenly spoke up: "Mr. Cooper, I have a question. Is MGM planning to relist?"

"That's for sure, why?"

"So I'm guessing the re-release will happen after Transformers is released, right?"

Eric did not deny that MGM had already submitted the relevant materials, and that it was possible to find out by asking around.

"Pretty much, I'm thinking about that."

"Mr. Cooper, I also have an idea. I hope to exchange my Marvel shares for your MGM shares."

Eric was startled. He had just made an offer to acquire the company, and the other party had already proposed a swap. This was truly the nature of a businessman; their sense of smell was incredibly sharp.

"Mr. Perlmutter, you want to exchange your MGM shares and then cash out when the company goes public?"

"Yes, that's an idea, and I'm also very optimistic about MGM's future development."

"Mr. Cooper, since you took over MGM, this lion seems to have been revitalized. Every movie and every project is profitable."

"The rate of return and accuracy are simply terrifying. I believe that under your leadership, MGM will regain its glory of the last century and become the top of the seven major film studios."

"So if we do a share swap, I also plan to hold MGM shares for the long term and get a stable income."

"But when it really comes time to relist, once all the major institutions get involved, I'm afraid I won't even be able to get a 1% share on my own."

"So this is a good opportunity. Forget about an acquisition; the only way I can accept is a share swap."

Eric looked at Avi Arad, but to his surprise, the latter resolutely refused.

"I will never sell my Marvel shares. I love comics, and these superheroes are like my friends and my children."

"I'm open to collaborating on film projects, but there's absolutely no way I'd sell my own child!"

After saying that, he got up and left without hesitation, walking out of the office.

Isaac Perlmutter reached out to grab him, but the other man shook him off, completely ignoring his companion.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper, but Avi is a total shut-in. He's most attached to comics and toys."

"But don't worry about him. I don't have that much of a passion for Marvel. Let's continue talking about the equity swap."

Eric took a sip of water to moisten his throat.

"Mr. Perlmutter, you personally only own 17% of Marvel's shares. Even if the shares are swapped, I will not be Marvel's largest shareholder, so it's meaningless."

"So a replacement isn't out of the question, but you have to get your partner on board first."

"What I want are the shares of both of you. Contact me again after this is done."

Thank you Luciferhx for the 100-coin donation.

(End of this chapter)