America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 343, Section 341: Eric's Plans for the Future

"what!"

"Mom, why are you back!"

Facing Liu Xiaoli, who suddenly opened the door and entered, Liu Yifei screamed and asked.

Then she realized something was wrong; she was still naked.

She was both angry and anxious: "Go out first, Mom!"

"Okay! Okay!"

Liu Xiaoli then came to her senses and turned to close the door.

Just then, the neighbor across the hall heard the commotion and poked her head out, asking with concern, "Liu, I think I heard a scream. What happened?"

"No, it's nothing, it's nothing, Ansulna."

"How are you?"

"I'm fine, everything is fine, my daughter's boyfriend is inside."

The other person suddenly realized, speaking with the air of someone who had been through it all: "Oh, so that's how it is. You saw something shameful?"

"Yeah." Old Liu nodded slowly.

"Oh come on! It's so normal among young people, that's why they're young."

"Tell them to keep an eye on him from now on. As long as you're satisfied with this boy, make sure he gets lost if you're not."

Old Liu sighed, thinking to himself that if he only cared about money, he would be overjoyed.

Eric is the world's richest man; there's only one in the world, and media experts predict that no one will be able to surpass him in terms of personal wealth within the next ten years.

Unless a new round of technological revolution occurs and a major breakthrough that affects the lives of all mankind is born, it is unlikely that another super-rich person will emerge.

Although there are over a hundred heads of state worldwide, 90% of them actually wield less power and wealth than Eric.

But the problem is that, putting money aside, the family situation is far too complicated.

That scene was so shameful that she wanted to disappear into the ground.

Especially when she thought about what had happened between her and Eric, a sense of guilt immediately welled up in her heart.

That bastard did it on purpose; his daughter bought him concert tickets.

She was enjoying hot pot and singing, in a great mood, when this guy sent her a text message telling her to come home immediately.

She rushed home, just to see this?

Click!

A few minutes later, the door opened, and Liu Yifei whispered, "Mom, come in quickly."

Although she lives here, she always pays attention to her privacy. Even the neighbors don't know that the most successful young Chinese person in Hollywood today is their neighbor.

Old Liu hurried into the house and saw Eric slowly getting dressed.

The guy gave me a weird smile.

It was intentional, absolutely intentional.

The three of them looked at each other, and the atmosphere became somewhat awkward.

Neither of them spoke. Eric coughed lightly a few times. "Um, I'm a little hungry. I haven't had dinner yet. Crystal, get me something to eat."

"Oh, there are leftovers from tonight in the fridge, do you want some?"

"Hmm, heat it up."

"Then wait a moment."

After sending Xiao Liu to the kitchen, Eric walked towards Liu Xiaoli, who subconsciously took a few steps back, seemingly a little afraid of him.

"Why are you hiding? I'm not going to eat you."

"Hmph! You may not eat people, but you've embarrassed me. Now get out of here."

"Go? Where to go?"

"Go home, go back to your own home!"

"Are you kidding me? This is my house, I bought it, and I paid the taxes. Have you forgotten?"

Slightly taken aback, Liu Xiaoli said angrily, "But the name on the paper is Xixi, not you."

"Heh... Then go ask your daughter if she's willing to kick me out."

"You! You bastard!"

Eric felt pleased to see the other person's gritted teeth and helpless expression.

Da da da.

Hearing footsteps, Eric sensed that Xiao Liu was about to come out, and could only sneer, "I was planning to leave after I finished eating, but now I've changed my mind."

"Leave the door open for me. I'll come find you after Crystal falls asleep."

"you……"

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Yifei came out carrying a plate: "It's heated up, eat up."

After dinner, the two sat on the sofa watching TV, while Lao Liu moved a chair a short distance away, deliberately keeping his distance.

On the screen, the second season of "The Voice" was playing.

As the undisputed king of variety shows last year, countless people are looking forward to season 2.

It's not just the audience, but also many young people with ideals, middle-aged people who feel their talents are not being recognized, and even the elderly.

Last year, the production team had to find contestants themselves, but this year the number of applicants is so high that they have to screen them, and most of them will not have the opportunity to perform on stage.

Moreover, although it's called The Voice of America, its influence has actually extended far beyond the United States.

After the first season became a huge hit, the rights were sold to Canada, various European countries, Asian countries, Australia, and other places.

Copyright fees are calculated on a quarterly basis; you get paid for each quarter of the filming. The first quarter alone sold for over $4 million.

In this day and age, this is already considered top-tier pricing.

Therefore, many people from other countries sign up to participate in the competition. The reason is obvious: this is the most developed place in the world for the music industry.

If you want to truly make a name for yourself in the world of music, then coming to the United States is probably the fastest way.

If you are truly exceptionally talented, it can make you a global sensation at least five or six years earlier.

This year's GG fee doesn't even need to wait until the final night; various big names have already set their sights on it and signed contracts before recording even began.

PepsiCo was the biggest spender, investing $8000 million in one go.

On the night of last year's final, Michael Jordan downed a small bottle of Coke in front of a national audience, making a face that said it tasted delicious and was very refreshing.

Although it didn't contain a single GG word, the effect was significant, directly boosting Pepsi's market share by 5 percentage points.

Although it is still the second largest in the industry, the gap with Coca-Cola has at least narrowed.

Consider that Coca-Cola's most famous and successful GG was also filmed by Michael when he was young. It's obvious who the biggest winner was.

So when Pepsi learned that Coca-Cola had offered $6000 million, they immediately raised their bid.

Unfortunately, Mike himself did not participate in the recording of the second season.

The success of his nationwide tour last year was self-evident, with ticket revenue exceeding $3 million.

Furthermore, a cooperation agreement has been reached with Universal Music, with Universal Music hosting and Mei Yi participating, and a global tour concert will be held this year.

In terms of revenue sharing, Universal offered more concessions than Sony.

So Mike is now focusing all his energy on this matter and can't afford to do variety shows anymore.

Celine Dion, Janet Jackson, and JZ made their regular comebacks, and the company brought in Sting to replace Mike.

What?

You don't know who he is?

Have you seen "This Wounded Hand Isn't So Cold"? The theme song "Shape of My Heart" is sung by him.

As far as the bands are concerned, the Police Band's popularity might not have been among the top tier back then, in an era of fierce competition among bands.

But Sting's fame is absolutely world-class, especially in the United States where he is extremely popular.

"Crystal, I remember you used to want to release an album, want to give it a try?" Eric asked, putting his arm around Xiao Liu.

"No, you're kidding, right? I can't even beat these contestants in singing, let alone release an album?"

"Didn't you once plan to join Sony Music, but then you lost confidence in yourself?"

Xiao Liu shook his head vigorously: "That was my mom's plan. She wanted me to use music to increase my fame. I'm not good at singing, so I'd better stick to acting."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli rolled her eyes, thinking to herself, "Your mother is no good, but this stinky man is great, huh?"

"By the way, honey, is your acquisition almost finished? I saw on the news, is the antitrust investigation over?"

Eric chuckled and pinched her nose: "You do pay attention to these things."

"I didn't pay attention before, but now I check on you whenever I have free time. It's because I care about you."

"Yes, the process is basically complete. There were a few minor inconveniences, but it's not a big problem."

"What's wrong?"

"Hehe. What else can it be? Disney is causing trouble. Antitrust investigations can be simple or complicated."

"The assessment mainly focuses on the entire industry, your competitors, your internal operations, and your market dominance."

"The other companies are all my people. Warner is very keen to close the deal as soon as possible. Even New Line Cinema and Lionsgate won't make any irresponsible remarks. The only one causing trouble is Disney."

"However, it's like an ant trying to shake a tree; it can't affect the overall situation by itself. At most, it can slow down the pace a bit."

"So, MGM has reached cooperation agreements with other companies? Isn't this a violation of regulations?" Xiao Liu asked curiously.

"Strictly speaking, this is an act of tacit conspiracy. Although there was no written agreement, we all acted in unison."

"But as I said before, the trend is set and unstoppable. Warner Bros. hasn't had any new films released recently, have you noticed?"

"Um."

"The acquisition process has officially begun, and the transaction should be completed in about a month."

"Honey, so you'll be the boss of Warner Bros., right?" Xiao Liu asked excitedly.

"It can be said that Hollywood is officially entering the era of the Big Six. Warner Bros.' opening sequence will no longer exist, but older films and TV shows will still retain their opening logos."

"Anyway, Friends is now ours, so it's a way of getting revenge for the acquisition back then."

"Then I can free up my hands to focus on dealing with Disney. They're into theme park economics, and I'm also preparing to build my own theme park."

"As long as Disney dominates the big screen, its industrial chain cannot form a positive cycle."

"With the resources I have, I refuse to believe I can't compete with it!"

"But you spent $510 billion. That number makes my head spin. MGM is so big, is it really necessary to spend so much money to buy another movie company?"

Liu Xiaoli sighed with some emotion, saying that 510 billion yuan was a sum she couldn't earn in ten lifetimes.

Eric simply shook his head and remained silent, a man of limited understanding despite his long hair.

Putting aside the immense value of Warner Bros.' film library, just the DC merchandise alone—once the cinematic universe is established and the copyrights are granted to DoubleStar Entertainment and Hasbro—could generate unimaginable profits.

The reason why Lego rose to prominence back then was because it acquired the copyright to Marvel, thus securing its position as the industry leader.

Once the Marvel and DC cinematic universes mature, the two major copyrights will be consolidated into one.

Eric is confident that he can take down Mattel within a few years. Relying on just one Barbie doll to carry the load is absolutely not enough to withstand the attack of this group of superheroes.

However, since Hasbro and Mattel are already the two largest toy companies in the United States, aggressively acquiring them with large sums of money is definitely not an option.

Because it simply cannot pass the antitrust hurdle; otherwise, if Eric had poured another $300 billion into it, there would have been a high chance that he could have brought Mattel under his control.

If acquisition is not an option, what should we do?

What can we do? Just take it down, seize the market, and it will naturally collapse.

After defeating Mattel and expelling Lego from the country, Bandai Namco's business is not adapting well to the local conditions.

Small domestic companies are even less of a threat, and a monopoly on the toy market has essentially been established.

At that time, comic book companies will produce popular IPs with the help of promotional channels such as Facebook and YouTube.

Popular IPs are adapted into films and television series, which are shown on the big and small screens, and theaters can arrange screenings under their own control.

After expanding their influence, they then use the surrounding area and theme park economy to reap huge profits, which is a very complete industrial chain.

Barring major unforeseen events, such as a world war, this model can be maintained for decades without any problems.

Late at night, after Xiao Liu fell asleep, Eric slowly got up and walked out of the room.

Using the dim light from his phone, he found his way to Liu Xiaoli's bedroom.

Sure enough, the door was ajar.

They may not say it, but their actions speak louder than words.

Eric pushed open the door and quietly went in. He sat on the edge of the bed and put one hand on Lao Liu's body.

She was naked, not wearing pajamas.

Snapped!

With a soft slap, Liu Xiaoli struck Eric's hand.

"Hehe. What's wrong? Are you getting impatient or angry?"

Old Liu ignored him and rolled over onto his stomach on the bed.

But after a moment, her breathing also became heavy.

"Ouch! Be gentle!"

"I like heavy things, you know that."

"I think you like to hit me hard."

"If it's not you, then it's definitely not Sissi?"

"None of those will work. Go find someone else who likes this kind of style."

"Still arguing! By the way, try to talk to her and help her prepare mentally beforehand."

"If you plan to stay with me forever, you have to accept my family."

"What do you mean?" Liu Xiaoli turned over and got up.

"You didn't tell me to find someone else, but I found several. In short, she needs to be mentally prepared to share a husband."

"Are you crazy! I'm her mother, how could you say such a thing?"

"Your current behavior doesn't make you look like a mother."

"You! Didn't you promise to give Sisi a proper status? You made that promise to me."

"I didn't say I wouldn't keep my promise. I definitely will. Mistresses, whether they're the third, fourth, fifth, or sixth, have titles too. It's not like they're necessarily the boss!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli flew into a rage and raised her hand to strike.

"However, once Warner Bros. acquires it, I plan to give Sisi some shares as a token of my appreciation."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli's raised hand froze in mid-air.

Warner Bros. shares are not just this house. Look at MGM's current stock price; a 1% stake represents more than $2 million.

Three to five years later, Warner Music would have grown significantly, and that would have been another astronomical sum.

"How much are you planning to give?"

"It depends on your sincerity."

In the other bedroom, Xiao Liu suddenly woke up, glancing at the half-open door and the bed where he was alone.

After thinking for a moment, he turned over, put on his shoes, and went outside.

(End of this chapter)