In the study room in the front cabin of the Boeing 767, C girl Claire Gein knocked on the door to remind her that she had arrived in Japanese airspace, and as usual she sent in a box of watches with the time zone adjusted.
Simon picked one at random, put it on and looked at the time.
Japan is 18 hours ahead of the east coast of the United States. It is now November 5, about 10 o'clock in the morning on Monday.
The purpose of this trip to Japan was to meet with Panasonic President Akio Furui, and it was not a whim.
Ever since the Hearst family stepped in and snatched away 20% of ESPN's shares from Simon, he had an idea to find a way to get Panasonic to voluntarily withdraw from the transaction.
The Hearst family has recently acquired the shares of ESPN from Reynolds Nabisco for only $180 million. I wonder if they used their own 'influence' again, which is a full $2,000 lower than Simon's original offer. Ten thousand U.S. dollars.
However, although he has a lot of chips in his hands, Simon has no intention of forcing Panasonic to withdraw.
The market capitalization of Panasonic in this era is comparable to that of industry giants such as DuPont and General Electric in the United States. As a local leader, Daenerys Entertainment uses some of its own advantages to force Panasonic to withdraw from the acquisition. It is not without the possibility of success, but doing so seems Very unwise.
Compared to the Hearst family's use of force to suppress others, Simon hopes to cooperate.
The development of the Westeros system will only touch the interests of more and more people in the future. In this case, if you want to continue to expand, you must win over as many allies as possible instead of continuing to create enemies. This is a decision Simon made in recent months when he has been thinking about the development route of the Westeros system. Even if the Westeros system is strong enough in the future, he does not intend to change this way of thinking.
Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment began to contact Panasonic last week, and a rough cooperation draft was sent in advance. Simon and Akio Furui finally agreed to have a meeting this afternoon.
Because it was approaching noon, Simon and his group got off the plane, and Panasonic did not neglect it and specially prepared a lunch.
However, the size of the luncheon was very small. If the translator was not included, there were only two people, Simon and Furui Akio. He didn't intend to make his sudden arrival in Japan known to everyone, and Simon was happy to hear about it.
Moreover, only Akio Furui showed up at the luncheon, and Simon roughly guessed the reason.
The purpose of Simon's trip to Japan is to persuade Panasonic to withdraw from the MCA acquisition. For Panasonic, after the death of founder Konosuke Matsushita last year, this huge corporate giant is not of the same mind. Furui Akio hopes to acquire MCA, and Panasonic There are actually many internal objections. Akio Furui probably didn't want news of his meeting with Simon to spread.
Inside a fine Japanese restaurant in downtown Osaka.
Akio Furui is a short old man about sixty years old. He wears glasses and looks a little unsmiling.
After everyone introduced each other, they came to a private room.
There were four people in total, Furui Akio and his translator, a tall and thin middle-aged man.
Simon took Claire Gein with him. Due to the frequent economic cooperation between Australia and Japan in the 1980s, Girl C, who graduated from the University of Melbourne, majored in civil engineering and also took Japanese as an elective. She reached a very high level and was more than enough to serve as a translator.
Speaking of which, although the four ABCD 'vases' that Janet helped her choose did not have as high academic qualifications as the new housekeeper Alice Ferguson, they were all at the elite level. Otherwise, the new housekeeper would not have been the first to do so. I was tricked a little bit by Girl C in just one day.
According to the woman, both ABCD and Simon can complement each other.
For example, Girl C majored in civil engineering in college but Simon knew nothing about it. Japanese is also considered a weakness of Simon.
The four of them sat cross-legged on the floor at a typical Japanese dining table. At first, they chatted about some random topics. After the waiter served lunch one by one and then left, the conversation relaxed a little.
Girl C did not shy away from it. She stood very close to Simon. She exhaled softly into his ear and translated from the other side: "Simon, what do you think of the current situation of Japan's economy? Will it continue to deteriorate?"
Simon skillfully held the chopsticks to taste the sashimi in front of him. Hearing this, he looked at Akio Furui across the way and said, "It's not going to get worse, but it should continue to decline for a few years."
The middle-aged translator also whispered in Akio Furui's ear.
After listening to the translation, Akio Furui seemed a little unconvinced and asked something else.
Girl C said in real time: "The Japanese government has taken many rescue measures, and the foundation of Japan's economy is very solid. It shouldn't be in a downturn for a long time, right?"
Simon said: "I have always been concerned about this. The Bank of Japan has recently started to lower interest rates again, which in my opinion is very unwise. The bubble in the Japanese economy has not completely dissipated, especially the real estate bubble. Now it is eager to lower interest rates. Increasing liquidity will only allow funds to flow into the real estate market and will not be of much benefit to the real economy."
“Are you saying that Japan needs to completely abandon the real estate industry?”
Simon nodded and smiled: "This is a very difficult choice, but it is also a necessary choice."
"Simon, when do you think Japan's economy will start to recover?"
Simon smiled and shook his head: "I don't know about this. There have been many economic crises in history. Some countries were not painful and could get through it in two or three years. However, some countries failed to recover and remained in decline. The key is to Look at how the Japanese government behaves."
"So, Simon, what do you think is the most serious problem facing the Japanese economy, besides the housing bubble?"
Simon did not expect that Akio Furui would pursue these issues involving the national economy. He noticed that the translator opposite seemed to be more focused than Akio Furui, and he roughly guessed something. After all, Cersei Capital’s operation around the Japanese stock market last year can indeed be called a classic. Moreover, Simon's own rise is legendary. He has accumulated huge amounts of capital by relying on bets on the macroeconomic level several times in a row.
After thinking for a moment, Simon didn't hide anything. Anyway, he said now that even if someone cared, when it comes to the future of a country, few people would easily listen to the opinions of an outsider.
"I think the most serious problem facing the Japanese economy is corporate debt. If this problem is not solved, the Japanese economy may remain depressed, and it may even last for more than ten years."
"We have lowered bank interest rates, which should ease cash flow pressures on businesses."
"No, Gujing, you have made a mistake." Simon shook his head and said: "The problem of Japanese companies is not that they are short of money, but that they dare not borrow any more money. Because after the stock market bubble burst, as the market value plummeted, many Japanese companies The debt ratio will relatively increase significantly. In the next few years, these Japanese companies will only focus on reducing their own debt in order to make their balance sheets appear healthier. Therefore, measures such as lowering interest rates will have an impact on the real industry. Not big."
Across the dining table, Akio Furui finally stopped asking questions, thought for a moment, and then said again: "This sounds very much like an unsolvable situation."
Simon nodded: "Yes, if companies focus on reducing debt and dare not borrow money, it will definitely cause liquidity to decrease and further trigger deflation. Once this situation occurs, the entire country's economy will lose its vitality and will never recover."
Akio Furui thought for a moment again, then raised his head and looked at Simon: "Is there really no solution?"
Simon said: "There are actually no solutions. Roosevelt did a good job back then. He vigorously developed infrastructure construction through government investment. The key is to spend the money. However, Japan's infrastructure construction is already very complete. You have to What you have to do is spend your money, preferably abroad.”
After listening to the interpreter's explanation, Akio Furui smiled and said, "Simon, you are a very honest person."
Simon roughly understood the meaning of Akio Furui's words and understood the meaning. He smiled and said: "Yes, if you follow my intention this time, I should persuade you to keep cash as much as possible and not make external investments. However, I I think Japan's more suitable investment targets should be emerging developing countries, such as Asian countries and Eastern European countries. The United States is not a good choice, and Hollywood, for Panasonic, is even more inappropriate."
Hearing Simon talk about Hollywood, Akio Furui did not change the topic, but asked seriously: "Simon, why do you say Hollywood is not a good choice for Panasonic?"
Simon thought for a moment and said, "Gu Jing, do you know the 'Hollywood Ledger'?"
Akio Furui nodded and said: "I have heard that it is a common accounting method used by Hollywood studios to convert most of the profits into expenses in order to reduce the tax burden and the sharing based on creative personnel."
"This is just one kind of Hollywood account book," Simon nodded and said: "Actually, there is another kind of Hollywood account book, which is for outsiders. For example, Panasonic, you spent 10 million US dollars to invest in a film and received 100 million US dollars in North America. Box office, so how much do you think you can get?"
Akio Furui calculated in his mind for a moment and said: "If Panasonic buys MCA, I think the company can earn at least US$30 million, excluding production and distribution costs, right?"
"No, even if Panasonic becomes the owner of MCA, you may still lose money."
"How to say?"
"I heard that you plan to let Wasserman and Sheinberg continue to run the company. According to the example I just gave, with an investment of 10 million U.S. dollars and a box office of 100 million U.S. dollars, it seems that you can earn more than 30 million U.S. dollars. But The more likely scenario is that Vassalman will sign a very generous sharing contract with the creator, with 20% of the net profit going to the director, such as Spielberg, and 20% of the net profit going to the starring actor, such as Dustin Hoffman. These big names. Then there are the producers’ commissions and the publicity and distribution costs that are destined to be even more inflated after a big hit. Even if a movie with an investment of 10 million U.S. dollars gets a box office of 100 million U.S. dollars, you may not make a profit. Split the money.”
"Simon, I don't think that's going to happen."
"Actually, this has already happened. Furui, you can ask someone to investigate the "Captain Hawk" material that Columbia Pictures is producing. They are using this sharing model. Moreover, because Spielberg is the director , Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams, "Captain Hawke" cost far more than $10 million to make. I don't think Sony will make much money from this project. Even Spears It’s impossible for Sony to make money from the projects that people like Berg and Dustin Hoffman are involved in. Do you think other films that Sony invests in will still generate profits?”
Akio Furui hesitated for a moment and asked: "Simon, actually, we don't necessarily need to let Vassalman and the others take charge of Universal. Moreover, we will strengthen the supervision of this company."
Simon shook his head and said: "Hollywood is actually a very closed circle. I know you may still be considering letting Michael Ovitz take charge of this company. Ovitz is indeed an excellent agent, but you may not It’s not too clear what he has been doing over the years. What Ovitz has been doing in the past ten years is to find ways to help CAA’s clients get higher salaries. Even if he takes charge of MCA, this kind of thinking will not change easily. He still We will attract talents through very generous sharing contracts, which may bring you a semblance of prosperity. As for the benefits, of course, we should leave them to Hollywood's own people as much as possible. You are outsiders after all."
Akio Furui still didn't believe it and said: "Simon, this is just your one-sided statement."
Simon smiled and continued: "Actually, there is one last option. Panasonic personally sends someone to take charge of the company. In fact, this is the right thing. Because what Hollywood studios need is decisive paternalistic management. This method does not require professional managers. However, for Panasonic, this idea is even worse, because you do not understand the entertainment industry at all, and if you personally take charge of this company, you will become an even more complete outsider. There is no need for Hollywood to take any care of the profits it makes from you. Even if you are a 500-pound sumo wrestler, if you go to Hollywood for a while, you will probably come out skinny."
Girl C, who was originally attentive, couldn't help laughing when she heard Simon's last metaphor. Realizing her gaffe, the girl quickly said sorry, lowered her eyes and awkwardly picked up her chopsticks, pretending to be busy.
However, Akio Furui did not laugh. His expression gradually became serious. He stared at Simon and said, "I suddenly realized something. Simon, you are also what you call a 'Hollywood person.' What you said is basically just to make Panasonic Just withdrawing from the MCA acquisition."
"I don't deny this. This is the purpose of my coming to Japan." Simon nodded and said: "However, Gujing, I am a very honest person, as you just said. And, what I said, you can Find someone to investigate. There are many similar cases in Hollywood. For example, in Colombia, although Sony and Panasonic are competitors, you can investigate and find out that what the two managers hired by Sony have done over the past year has been nothing but extortion. Empty this company.”
Akio Furui hesitated for a moment, then solemnly nodded and said, "I will."
"Let's talk about our cooperation," Simon said instead: "Panasonic's acquisition of MCA is largely to follow Sony and prevent the other party from using its content advantages to encroach on Panasonic's market share in the film and music hardware fields. What you want , Daenerys Entertainment can provide it, and the effect is better than Panasonic's acquisition of MCA. For example, in terms of movies, in the past few years, Daenerys Entertainment has accounted for a large part of the top ten box office movies in North America. This is our Content advantage. Now, Daenerys Entertainment also owns the largest video chain company in North America. In terms of content and channels, Daenerys Entertainment has unparalleled advantages in Hollywood. As long as we cooperate, even if the Sony video recorder is completely It is not impossible to squeeze out of the market. You should have seen the information I sent in advance, and this is only one of the contents of our cooperation."