Chapter 1899 1901【Capture the World】


    In May, when Xiang Nan led his team to Europe to shoot "Mission: Impossible", the once-prominent Carloco Pictures was already in his possession.


    This former giant is now in a business crisis, so it only sold for US$80 million, which can be said to be very cheap.


    Especially "Terminator 2", this is a big treasure. Although it may have cost more than $100 million, it earned $200 million at the box office in North America and more than $500 million at the global box office.


    What’s even more rare is that this movie is often released and has been re-released every year for decades after its release. Its loyal fans flock here every time.


    Not to mention its video sales and profits from peripheral product development. As far as Xiang Nan knows, just such a movie has created a commercial value of nearly three billion US dollars.


    ?The Terminator prototype figure alone has sold hundreds of thousands of sets, becoming a favorite among movie fans.


    ??So the top management of Carolco Pictures really lost everything in a bamboo basket. They lost their wives and lost all their troops.


    ?After taking over Carolco Pictures, Xiang Nan directly injected US$50 million into James Cameron, and said that if it was not enough, he could continue to invest.


    Hang Nan will not begrudge investment in Lao Zhan. Because he believes that every penny he invests in James Cameron will eventually bring huge returns.


    …


    In May, Xiang Nan’s acquisition of Universal Pictures also took a new turn.


    ?The reason was just as Xiang Nan expected, the Japanese economic bubble burst, and the stock market, property market, and financial industry collapsed. As a result, Panasonic lost financial support and had to withdraw from the acquisition.


    ?In this way, Universal Pictures naturally did not have the courage to demand a high price, so it agreed to Xiang Nan''s previous acquisition price of US$6.2 billion.


    ?However, Xiang Nan also asked the third-party company to withdraw at this time.


    Because Universal Pictures is not worth $6.2 billion.


    ?In 1982, Coca-Cola spent only US$750 million to acquire Columbia Pictures; in 1985, Turner Broadcasting spent only US$1.5 billion to acquire MGM.


    Even though the currency has depreciated somewhat after seven or eight years, Universal Pictures cannot be four or five times more expensive than Columbia Pictures and MGM Pictures.


    ?According to the most optimistic estimate, its value is only about three billion US dollars, and any more than that is considered a loss.


    Both acquirers withdrew, and when the news came out, Universal Pictures'' stock price began to plummet.


    From the previous price of thirty US dollars per share, it quickly fell to less than fifteen US dollars per share, which temporarily made Global shareholders extremely depressed.


    They have all made up their minds to sell their shares and enjoy the world with several times their profits.


    ?Who would have thought that the Japanese economy would collapse and all the buyers would run away, making them really want to cry and regret that they were too greedy. If you had known earlier, it would have been appropriate to sell it for $6 billion.


    What makes them even more depressed is that as the stock price plummeted, Universal Pictures'' creditors came to ask them to repay their debts as soon as possible.


    Just in response to those words, the house leaked and it rained all night, and the boat was late and encountered a strong wind.


    …


    Amidst this situation of internal and external troubles, Xiang Nan hired a second third-party company and asked them to negotiate the acquisition with Universal, and directly lowered the price to US$2 billion.


    The shareholders of Universal Pictures naturally disagree with this price. But they have been tempted to sell their stocks. It is no longer easy to gather the centripetal force and let everyone run the company in a down-to-earth manner and make money through dividends.


    In response to those words, people''s hearts dispersed and it was difficult to lead the team.


    In addition, Xiang Nan has deliberately not cooperated with Universal Pictures in recent years, and it has no share in all the blockbuster movies.


    Even the movies originally produced by it did not have its share, such as the "Back to the Future" series, the "Lethal Weapon" series, the "RoboCop" series, the "Ghostbusters" series, etc.


    ? ?As a result, Universal Pictures lost nearly two billion US dollars in revenue, and as a result, its current business situation is far worse than in the real world and it is heavily in debt.


    ?Just like Columbia Pictures, it has a market value of more than 2 billion U.S. dollars, but debts of more than one billion U.S. dollars. The monthly interest repayment alone costs tens of millions of U.S. dollars. This is a huge burden for Universal Pictures.


    So in the end, Universal Pictures’ shareholders bowed to money and eventually sold the company to a third-party company for $3.5 billion.


    ?This transaction was completed in June. After completion, Xiang Nan officially announced that he would take over Universal Pictures. As soon as this news came out, there was an immediate sensation.


    On the one hand, US$3.5 billion is not a small amount. Where Xiang Nan''s funds come from is naturally a question; on the one hand, Columbia Pictures has been acquired before, and now Lianqiu Pictures has also been sold, which made it difficult for the American people to accept for a while.


    Fortunately, Xiang Nan has developed a lot of connections in Hollywood over the years, and has made friends with some big figures such as congressmen, governors, and mayors in the political world. The media industry has also hired public relations companies early to do public relations for some media in advance.


    What''s more, Sony''s previous acquisition of Columbia has attracted all the hatred. Two years have passed, and the people''s grievances have almost been vented.


    It is vigorous and then dwindles. So although it is facing some criticism now, the level of protest is much smaller than before Sony''s acquisition of Columbia.


    …


    ?However, public opinion still did not let Xiang Nan off easily. A large number of reporters flocked to the filming locations of "Mission: Impossible" in Europe, hoping that Xiang Nan would explain the acquisition of Universal.


    Many of the reporters flew over from the United States overnight, which shows their urgency.


    However, Xiang Nan did not accept their interview. He hired a security company to protect the safety of the crew. Except for the crew, no one else was allowed to enter the filming location, so these reporters could only come and return disappointed.


    But he could block the reporters, but he couldn''t block the crew.


    For his successful acquisition of Universal Pictures, Jennifer Connelly, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jon Voight and others all found it incredible.


    “Charles, is this true? Did you really buy Universal Pictures?” Jennifer asked in shock.


    ?She didn’t expect that Xiang Nan would have done it without taking action, and that he would win one of the six giants in Hollywood with just one action. It was really unbelievable.


    “Yes.” Xiang Nan nodded.


    "But...how did you do it? Thirty-five billion US dollars, did you make that much money?" Jennifer asked curiously.


    Xiang Nan has made a lot of money in recent years, but it is speculated that the funds he has obtained are only about one billion. After all, taxes in the United States are very heavy. The more you earn, the more taxes you pay.


    ?Although Xiang Nan has earned between one and two billion U.S. dollars, he may only have one billion left after paying taxes.


    (End of this chapter)