America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 287, Section 286: Old Deng, you should go back to Canada and retire.

Katy Perry wins The Voice!

"Taylor Swift has contributed a masterpiece that perfectly blends country and pop, and her future looks promising."

"Chillin Trudeau's amazing falsetto, 'Sugar' is sweet beyond measure."

"After 19 years, they've brought us 'We Are the World' again!"

"Eric Cooper, the busiest person at The Voice finale."

"A massive party, Michael Jackson reigns supreme!"

"Eric Cooper, a musical prodigy with exceptional talent, a creative genius whose talent was wasted on film!"

"The greatest music variety show in history has been born! A super show that blends humanistic spirit, charitable values, and lively humor!"

"The Voice reached its peak, becoming the only television program in history to rival the Super Bowl."

"A winning hand from the start, Mei Yi Records is showing its potential."

"Breaking news! Michael Jackson is restarting his concert tour after three years, and tickets are expected to go on pre-sale in about two weeks."

"Avril was impressed by Eric Cooper's musical talent and wanted to invite him to write a song specifically for her."

"Shocking! After The Voice finale, Britney Spears and Eric Cooper were photographed in the same room, and they didn't separate until more than an hour later."

At 10:30 p.m. that night, as the finale of The Voice of China came to an end, related terms immediately topped the Yahoo Entertainment headlines.

Many live stream clips and obviously blurry candid videos were also uploaded to YouTube and Yahoo.

The next morning, when Eric woke up in bed, he still had Nicole's breasts in his mouth, and they were covered in drool.

"woke up?"

"Hmm, what time is it?" Eric yawned.

"It will be nine o'clock in five minutes. Lie down for a little longer, and I'll cook for you."

"Um."

Nicole was only wearing an apron, her snow-white clothes exposed.

The cook outfit is also very attractive; it's a uniform temptation that anyone can wear whenever they want.

He pulled over the computer on the bed and looked at it. On the big screen, he saw the rumors about him and Little Sweetie.

Snapped!

Eric slapped his forehead, which sobered him up a bit.

Damn it, these tabloids have no morals whatsoever.

What utter nonsense about an hour and a half? And what's with the "secret meeting"? Is that a word you can just use so casually?

If I really wanted to have a secret meeting, how could you possibly find out?

The fact that my mistress has been kept hidden away for so long without being reported in the newspapers is proof of that.

Moreover, it wasn't for more than an hour; the meeting between the two ended in just about 10 minutes.

If he wanted to do something shameful, 10 minutes wouldn't be enough.

It will take at least an hour, and Britney won't be able to walk out alive and kicking; she'll have to do the splits.

He rolled out of bed, walked to the kitchen, and hugged Nico from behind. The Aries was so bright it almost blinded him.

"Honey, why is your skin so white? I really want to put it in my mouth every day."

Nico slapped his hand away: "Ouch! Stop messing around, it's going to burn."

"If it's burnt, just eat something else. It's not like we have nothing to eat. Squeeze some out for me to drink."

"Want to drink? Then why don't you put in more effort? You can drink as much as you want now that you're pregnant. You're not using all your energy on those other girls, are you?"

Eric rubbed his slightly sore lower back: "What are you talking about! Do you think I'm the kind of person who favors one person over another? Your husband has always been one to treat everyone equally."

"My standard is that I'd rather share a single drop than eat a whole bowl by myself!"

"Then why did I feel like you weren't very energetic last night? Were you spending all your attention on other women?"

Eric gently rubbed her bottom: "Can you believe what those paparazzi say? Britney asked me to write a song for her, and not only her, but also Avril Lavigne, Maroon 5, and others. They were blown away by last night's show."

Nico scrambled the eggs onto a plate: "I saw it too, it was truly shocking. The entertainment section is practically being flooded with ads now."

"By the way, Jennifer Lopez called me last night and invited me out. I wonder if she's after the same thing. You've become a hot commodity that everyone wants a bite out of."

Sizzle!

Eric lifted his apron: "The real hot commodity is right here. If I'm going to eat it, it'll be yours."

"Hate!"

Although The Voice of China has ended, the social discussion has continued for several days and is still ongoing.

The upcoming tour is selling very well, and many people have left comments on the official website requesting that the four songs performed on the final night be sung.

Since none of these four songs have been released as singles yet, the only way to listen to them is to register as a member of Lionheart.net.

Even the official YouTube license hasn't been released; there are only some simple clips.

On the Billboard charts, "Let it go" remains at the top, leading by a significant margin in popularity, and it seems likely to continue this trend.

So it's better to wait a while and release it when the hype surrounding "Let it Go" has died down a bit.

Alternatively, it could be released with the album. Since the preparation for "The Voice" last year, Taylor Swift and her three friends have been secretly planning for a long time. Next year's Grammys is destined to be the most epic battle ever.

Compared to its fierce performance on Billboard, Frozen, now in its fourth week, has finally shown signs of fatigue, and Princess Elsa has encountered another heavyweight opponent.

Warner Bros. then joined the fray with their mega-production, "Troy."

Since the Lord of the Rings series revived epic films, major companies have wanted a piece of the pie, and the Troy project was launched in this way.

The film's production cost was an astonishing $1.75 million, nearly the same as Frozen's $1.8 million.

The cast includes a host of handsome men and beautiful women with strong box office appeal, such as Brad Pitt, Orlando Bloom, and Diane Kruger; it's practically guaranteed to be a box office hit.

Warner Bros. also poured a lot of effort into it, one of the manifestations of which is that "Troy" was released simultaneously worldwide, in more than 40 countries, making it even more powerful than "Frozen".

Indeed, its performance was quite impressive, grossing $1.03 million worldwide in its opening weekend.

When this data came out, both Warner Bros. and the Big Six breathed a sigh of relief, finally curbing the momentum of "Frozen".

If they win, they'll be too ashamed to admit it, but at least the loss won't be too embarrassing. The goal of the six major studios now is to promote Frozen as aggressively as possible and try to keep its box office below $10 billion.

There's no way around it; when you're facing an extremely powerful opponent, $10 billion is already a paltry sum.

New York, Rhode Island, Hasbro headquarters building.

Chairman of the Board Alan Hasenfield got out of the car. As the de facto ruler of Hasbro, he rarely appeared in public, but he was the true controller of the company.

The reason I'm here today is to hold a board meeting to discuss the betting agreement with MGM.

He originally didn't want to pay attention to it and could have waited until the end of the year to talk about it, but Sergei thought it was better to make plans early.

After all, statistics show that Transformers toy sales actually reached four times that of last year, which is something to think about carefully.

The secretary pushed open the meeting room door, and the old man slowly walked to the chairman's seat. He looked around and, seeing that everyone had arrived, sat down with satisfaction.

Sergei, sitting next to his subordinate, asked, "May we begin?"

"Um."

"OK, the reason for holding this board meeting today is to inform everyone of a result regarding the performance-based agreement we signed with MGM. You are all aware of it."

"After more than six months of sales, the results have recently come out, with sales officially exceeding four times last month."

"In other words, the highest clause of the performance-based agreement has been activated, and we now face two options."

"Either give up 4% of the equity to MGM, or pay MGM 55% of the toy's net profit."

"Based on the company's current stock price, a 4% stake is equivalent to $4.3 million, while 55% of the toy's net profit, calculated based solely on sales to date, is approximately $4.6 million."

"However, it's important to remind everyone that net profit is calculated based on this year's figures, so the $4.6 million figure is only temporary."

"Based on sales trends, this figure is likely to reach or even exceed $5 million by the end of this year."

"Ladies and gentlemen, we now face a difficult choice."

Allen never expected the movie to be so successful, which led to a surge in toy sales.

The more joy you feel when you're making money, the more pain you feel when you have to cut your losses.

Falsifying accounts?

This kind of tactic is only good for fooling ordinary people. Using it on a large company like MGM is only acceptable if the company wants to experience prison life in its later years.

"What are your thoughts, Hill? What do you think?"

"Chairman, if we have to choose between the two, I think it's more appropriate to transfer the shares to MGM, since the value of the shares is clearly less than 55% of the profits."

Allen snorted and looked at another bespectacled man.

"I disagree with transferring equity. Yes, profits will continue to grow, but the company's market value will also grow. The two are positively correlated. When the second Transformers movie is released, the company's stock price will definitely soar again."

"But have you thought about it? The film industry is high-risk, especially for sequels. The possibility of failure is far greater than the possibility of success. What if the reputation collapses? It will affect the stock price. It's more reassuring to hold onto the profits."

"Impossible, at least it's highly unlikely to fail. The ending of the first movie clearly foreshadowed this. As long as the fight scenes are more spectacular and more Transformers appear, the toys will only sell better."

"That's just your guess. Do you even know anything about movies?"

"Although I don't understand movies, I do understand statistics and probability, so the chances of success are always greater."

"I disagree. This is a business worth hundreds of millions of dollars, not a slot machine game."

"Nothing in the world is 100% certain. Everything has a certain risk. Just like this bet, no one thought MGM could complete it. We need a bit of adventurous spirit."

"Raul, don't forget that we are responsible for the entire Hasbro, not just you. Personal feelings should never take precedence over the company's interests."

"I agree that, as a prudent move, we should transfer the equity to MGM."

"I also think it's better to play it safe."

"I agree with giving up profits. Profits can be earned back, but once equity is given up, it's not so easy to get it back."

"Giving up shares is a stupid solution; I don't agree with it!"

Seeing the board members arguing over the choice, Allen slammed his hand on the table, his long-standing authority instantly silencing the meeting room.

"I thought you were all smart people, but it seems you're not; you're actually seriously discussing this issue."

"Hill, Philip, Klausley, and all of you, go and check your heads after the meeting. I don't want to hear any more stupid things."

"In short, transferring shares is impossible; there's no room for discussion. Meeting adjourned!"

After saying that, Allen got up to leave, in his eyes the board meeting was just a formality.

Hasbro is essentially a one-man show, and it has been for many years.

Whether it's swearing or acting arbitrarily, it's all acceptable.

In three words: I'm used to it!

His domineering and tyrannical style naturally aroused the dissatisfaction of many people. "You've already thought it through, why are you asking us?" Several pairs of eyes immediately focused on Sergei.

Sensing the gaze, Sergei took a deep breath; he knew he had to make a move.

After discussing it with Eric, he secretly contacted people who were dissatisfied with Allen. Today's meeting was, in essence, a setup.

The best outcome would be a peaceful transition, persuading Allen to accept the transfer of shares through pressure from the board of directors.

Once the deed is done, there's nothing he can do to change it.

However, it seems that this approach is no longer working; if the soft approach doesn't work, then the hard approach is the only option.

"Ahem, Chairman, wait a moment!"

"Hmm? Is there anything else?"

"I think this matter needs further discussion. In fact, transferring equity might not be a bad option."

"Sergei, what are you saying?"

Allen Hasenfield's brow furrowed instantly. How could his usually obedient nephew suddenly dare to voice his dissent?

Feeling the pressure, Sergei instinctively wanted to back down, but when he thought of his own strength, he straightened his back.

"I said, we need to discuss this matter again. This isn't just my personal opinion, it's what we all think. What do you all say?"

The people who had just proposed transferring their shares looked at each other, then one, two, and three more.

Finally, everyone stood up.

Allen's brow furrowed deeper and deeper, clearly sensing that today was unusual.

These guys have got some nerve! They actually dared to defy my decision. Let's see what they're up to.

In any case, with the shares he holds, no one can shake his position at Hasbro.

Let's play along with them!

"Sergei, what exactly do you want?"

"We just want more cash; it's all for the company's good!"

"For the good of the company? Then you should know that Hasbro has been thriving under my leadership over the years, and all my decisions have been for the company's benefit."

"Allen, don't you think you're being too domineering?" Suddenly, a director said bluntly.

"That's right. Decisions in any company should be made through discussion and consensus, not by a one-man show. We need democracy!"

"You want democracy, huh? Fine, we'll grant your wish. We can vote by raising our hands," Allen sneered.

Judging from the argument just now, the score is 8-8, at most a tie.

After the meeting, he would talk to each of his opponents, letting them know who the real master was.

"Okay, but I'd like to bring in a new board member before the vote."

Squeak!

The meeting room door was pushed open, and Eric walked in slowly, smiling as he looked at Allen Hasenfield.

"Alan, you should go back to Canada and retire!"

(End of this chapter)