America: Starting with the acquisition of MGM...

Chapter 99. Little Elizabeth: I'm your fan.

In Los Angeles, a Lincoln minivan slowly pulls up in front of the DoubleStar Entertainment building.

Eric stepped out and strode into it.

From today onwards, DoubleStar Entertainment will no longer belong solely to the Olsen twins; Cooper's name will also be printed within it.

As for Robert Solny, it is said that he used the money he received from the shares to approach private equity firms, hoping to acquire a stake in MGM.

But I can only wish him good luck, after all, there are many reasons to reject someone.

For example, a simple message like, "Sir, you're late. Our slots were just full yesterday. We're sorry, but we'd love to serve you again next time."

Or perhaps MGM has temporarily shelved its financing plans, you ask me? How would I know why? I'm just an intermediary.

In short, they have plenty of ways. As for whether Solni will be furious, explode, suspect he's been tricked, or resort to legal action, that remains to be seen.

It might work, but it wouldn't be very effective because regulating private equity funds is too difficult; they are inherently secretive.

This is not unique to China; even the US has many loopholes in its regulations. At least before the 2008 financial crisis, the regulation of private equity was relatively lenient, but it became increasingly strict after the financial crisis.

You don't need to register with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, you're not subject to CRS requirements, etc., so how can you sue me?

Besides, didn't I give you money?

Not only did they give it to me, but they even paid a premium. You are the beneficiary, so what right do you have to sue me?

The legal team in this kind of case can fight you for several years, but in the end you will most likely lose.

Therefore, smart people would use $3 million to start a new business instead of wasting it.

If you really choose to take legal action, then this money, as one of the important pieces of evidence, can be frozen. What's the point of trying to get it all for nothing?

After the shareholders' meeting of DoubleStar Entertainment, the announcement of Eric's identity, and a meeting with the company's senior and middle management, he went to the Olsen sisters' office.

The meeting was actually quite simple, as there were only five shareholders: the two sisters, Eric and Olsen, and their father, David, and mother, Garnett.

现在双星娱乐的持股比例是埃里克45%、阿什莉奥尔森22.5%、玛丽奥尔森22.5%、大卫5%、加耐蒂5%。

Eric has essentially replaced Robert Solny in his role, but it is clearly too early for him to try to take control of Twinstar Entertainment's operations.

On the one hand, he had just joined the company and was not yet familiar with the business.

On the other hand, the other party is clearly a family, and they will definitely be wary of him. If necessary, they will unite to resist him, which is why Solny cannot truly control the Olsen sisters.

"A beautiful office, very girly!"

Looking at the colorful dolls on the table and the various decorations in the cabinet, Eric said, half-jokingly and half-praisingly.

Ashley smiled and said, "They're beautiful, aren't they? These are my and Mary's favorite collectibles."

"Great taste! Did you sisters make all these dolls yourselves?"

Eric picked up a doll and examined it closely, noticing that it resembled the two girls in front of him.

"Most of them are us, but there are exceptions. Test your eyesight," Mary Olsen said.

Upon hearing this, Eric carefully searched through the pile of dolls and quickly found a smaller doll.

"Whose image is this smaller one modeled after?"

"Pretty fast, isn't it? She's from our little sister, Elizabeth!"

"Elizabeth Olsen? People buy her merchandise too?" Eric asked, somewhat surprised.

Because the current Elizabeth Olsen is still more than a decade away from becoming the Scarlet Witch, according to Eric's recollection, before starring in the Marvel movies, Elizabeth Olsen was not very famous.

Even though she has acted in commercial blockbusters like "Godzilla," she has never reached the top tier of the new generation of actors.

Even years later, it wouldn't work, let alone now. I've never heard of Elizabeth Olsen appearing in any well-known works when she was a teenager.

Eric's blatant questioning immediately displeased his two older sisters, who both frowned and glared at him.

"Eric Cooper, if little Elizabeth knew you spoke of her like that, she would be very sad. She's a big fan of yours!"

"What?"

Eric looked at them blankly: "When did I have fans? I'm not an actor, I'm just a screenwriter and director at most."

Ashley shrugged helplessly and said with a pained bow, "She's still young and can't distinguish between reality and imagination. Your pretty face is really deceptive."

"Oh~~~~ I understand now."

Eric nodded in satisfaction: "This face is my second favorite feature. Not to mention a young girl, many big stars can't resist its allure."

Upon hearing this, Mary made a gagging face: "Narcissistic men are disgusting."

"So, what's the most satisfying part?" Ashley asked curiously.

"Girls, you can't just talk about this part of your body like that, it's already at NC17 level."

Hearing him make a lewd joke, Ashley instantly rolled her eyes, wondering how she could be so stupid as to ask when she already knew it was about that.

"Huh? Am I subconsciously trying to flirt with him? Damn, this handsome face is so deceptive!"

"He's a dangerous guy who could get rid of Robert Solny, but he's also really handsome. I'm conflicted. Wake up, Ashley!"

dong dong dong.

There was a knock on the office door.

Ashley Olsen mentally gave herself two big punches and quickly tried to return to normal.

"Boss, here's what you wanted: a summary of the company's operations over the past few years."

"Thanks, Hall. That's all for now. You can leave."

Eric picked up the report and started flipping through it, while Mary glanced at its thickness of dozens of pages and simply walked out of the office.

Ashley shook her head slightly: "Eric, if you want to know about Twin Star Entertainment, I can share with you."

"It's okay, I still prefer to see it myself. From now on, this will be our shared property, and I need to get to know it properly."

After the two sisters left, Eric began to carefully study the report figures, and before he knew it, more than an hour had passed.

Chen Xing brought in a cup of coffee and, seeing Eric's furrowed brow, asked, "Boss, should we call the Olsen sisters over?"

Eric waved his hand, signaling the other person to leave.

He frowned because he saw that Shuangxing Entertainment's performance had been declining year after year, and it was an instinctive reaction.

The company's revenue peaked in 1997, when the Olsen twins were only 12 years old, which was the time when their TV series had the greatest impact.

The two sisters haven't fully grown up yet, and their youthful appearance makes them more attractive to their main consumer group of children.

However, its performance subsequently declined, and to this day, its turnover has shrunk by more than 40%, and it has even been forced to sell some of the production lines of its factories.

Solny and the Olsen family had a fairly good relationship at that time, and Solny took many measures to save himself, but the results were not good.

There's nothing we can do about it. Their core competitiveness lies with the two sisters; they are both celebrities and products. If their fame declines, their products naturally won't sell.

However, Double Star Entertainment's business scope is quite broad, including not only conventional digital products such as DVDs, videotapes, and audio products.

There are also dolls, children's clothing, educational stationery, jewelry and gifts, food and snacks, etc. The development of the two sisters' IP is very high, at least much higher than that of MGM.

For MGM's merchandise, they mainly produce digital products like DVDs and videotapes, while other products are primarily IP licenses, generating some copyright fees, with the lion's share going to others.

The reasons are complicated. There's the messing around of Kerkelion. Under the management of this casino tycoon, MGM was lucky to survive and had no energy to pursue other developments.

Another major issue is the sales network. Double Star Entertainment has done a great job in this area over the years, and its products have achieved full coverage in North America.

It can cover most European countries, and there are also outlets in Australia and New Zealand, but sales are not high.

The report also mentioned that Doublestar Entertainment had planned to expand into South America and Asia, but the Olsen twins had already passed their peak when they entered South America.

This not only led to a failed market entry but also resulted in a large backlog of products, causing the company to suffer a significant loss.

After its defeat in South America, its plans to expand into Asia were also shelved. Now, its main sales are in North America, followed by Europe.

After reading through it, Eric had a basic understanding of Twin Star Entertainment. Its greatest asset to MGM was undoubtedly its mature sales network.

This single step can save MGM a huge amount of time, time that can be counted in years.

Eric dialed Ashley's number and continued upwards in the elevator, eventually arriving at the sisters' private lounge.

I knocked on the door, and it opened quickly. A little girl stood there smiling.

She has long golden hair, big eyes, and although her face hasn't fully developed yet, she already resembles her two older sisters somewhat.

Needless to say, it's the future Scarlet Witch—Elizabeth Olsen.

"you"

Eric had barely opened his mouth when the girl opposite him covered her face and screamed.

"Eric Cooper, Eric Cooper, it really is you! Mary didn't lie to me after all."

After saying that, she ran to the table, took out a beautiful photo album from her bag, and handed it to Eric.

"Please sign your name for me, Eric."

Ashley, reclining in the massage chair, said nonchalantly, "I told you, she's a huge fan. I told her not to bother you in the office, so thank me."

Looking at the young and innocent-looking girl in front of him, especially her eyes that seemed to be sparkling with stars, Eric felt quite strange.

She actually has fans, and such a cute little girl at that. It seems that good looks really are incredibly attractive.

Eric chuckled and patted Elizabeth's head before taking the photobook: "Where should I sign it? This is my first autograph; I've never done this before."

"The first one, really?" Elizabeth exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, so could you give me some pointers? Pretty little girl."

Elizabeth turned to the first page, where she saw a picture of someone wearing white stockings curled up on a sofa.

"Holy crap! This is so Lolita-esque! Which bastard photographer chose this?!" Eric couldn't help but think to himself.

"Let's sign it here, and write 'For Elizabeth Olsen, my first fan, wishing her great stardom!'" Olsen excitedly pointed to the white stockings.

After Eric finished signing, she carefully put it away, afraid of damaging it.

Then he moved a small sofa over and sat down next to Eric.

"Eric, Mary said you drove Solny away, and you're now our partner, right?"

Eric nodded: "That's one way to understand it."

"That's great, I really hate that guy, he's always staring at me and my sister with such a mean look."

"I also dislike greasy middle-aged men."

"So, are you going to help Ashley and Mary make a movie?"

"That's right, it will be launched soon. Unfortunately, there isn't a suitable role for you."

"It's okay, they've already told me what kind of movie it is."

Eric remained silent. How was he supposed to answer that question?

"Elizabeth, go play by yourself for a while. We still need to talk about work. You can come back to chase your idols after we're done, okay?"

At the crucial moment, Ashley stepped in to save the day. The topic was also very awkward for the two sisters, so they had never told their family about it.

The young woman gave Eric a sweet smile and obediently left the lounge.

"What a lovely little girl."

"Yes, so if there's a suitable role, don't forget Elizabeth; she's also working towards becoming an actress," Mary, the second sister, said.

"No problem, as long as there is a suitable opportunity. But let's talk about cooperation first. I've read the report, and Double Star Entertainment's situation isn't very good."

"The root of the problem is not hard to find: we've been relying on one leg for too long. So, if we want Double Star Entertainment to rise again, we must break away from the business model centered around you sisters."

When the topic of business came up, both sisters sat up straight: "Do you have any good suggestions?"

"Not yet, after all, I'm not a business expert. But there is one thing I can decide immediately, and that is the co-branding and bundled sales of brands and IPs."

"The Olsen twins' brand value has now reached its limit. Only if 'Blue Is the Warmest Color' can achieve a major breakthrough will it be possible to boost your sisters' commercial value."

"However, it will take at least six months to see the results, so we need new growth points that can produce immediate results."

"So I plan to have MGM's IPs collaborate with you sisters. For example, the Pink Panther would be a great fit. MGM can produce a short, fun film that lets your cartoon characters have interesting stories with the Pink Panther."

"Then launch a new product line; consumers love interesting new things."

"Regarding the issue that your market is children, you could consider collaborating with classic works such as the James Bond series, Legally Blonde, Rain Man, Tarzan, RoboCop, and The Silence of the Lambs."

Whether it will work or not is hard to say, but it's always good to give it a try.

"Wait, what does 'The Silence of the Lambs' mean?" Mary Olsen interrupted.

"Uh, I just blurted it out. Maybe we could make it into a Halloween costume. Hannibal likes to eat people, you know. Anyway, MGM has a lot of film and television resources. We can definitely make use of them, can't we?"

"Closed production lines can be restarted; that's our capital."

"What about the licensing fee?"

Ashley looked at Eric with some hope. DoubleStar Entertainment had long wanted to try the big IP collaboration model, but the problem was that they couldn't afford the copyright fees, so the idea was never implemented.

"Of course it's a discounted price, after all, we're partners now."

The Olsen sisters immediately smiled, suddenly realizing that collaborating with a large company wasn't so bad after all; the benefits were coming in an instant.

(End of this chapter)