Both Daenerys Entertainment and Metropolis ABC Group moved very quickly. Simon and Buffett finalized the price on the afternoon of Saturday, June 17. The following Sunday, the two companies held several hours-long board meetings and passed it smoothly. voted on the merger.
Mainly because the control rights of the two companies are relatively concentrated.
As for Daenerys Entertainment, Simon has absolute control over the company. As for Metropolitan ABC Group, although Warren Buffett and Tom Murphy's control is not as absolute as Simon's, it has been almost the same over the years. The so-called board of directors meetings are more of a formality.
The next day is June 19th.
on Monday.
As a hot topic destined to arouse public opinion, at the suggestion of Metropolis ABC Group, the two parties decided to announce the news through the morning news column "Good Morning America" of the ABC TV network. "Good Morning America" is broadcast from 7 o'clock to 9 o'clock in the morning, and ABC has a 30-minute special report starting at 8 o'clock.
Through a live broadcast, the special report announced Daenerys Entertainment's general plan to acquire Metropolis ABC Group.
Daenerys Entertainment Group will merge with Metropolitan ABC Group in a cash and stock manner. The transaction price of the two parties is US$172 per share, equivalent to a market value of US$20.9 billion. At the same time, Daenerys Entertainment will also assume the responsibility of Metropolitan ABC Group. US$3 billion in debt, and total acquisitions are approximately US$24 billion.
Not only that, based on Daenerys Entertainment Group’s closing price of US$73.75 at the close of trading last Friday, based on principle that each Daenerys Entertainment stock plus US$98.25 in cash is exchanged for one Metropolis ABC Group stock, Metropolis ABC Group shareholders are also free to choose the form of further payment in cash or shares.
For the specific exchange ratio, Metropolis ABC Group shareholders can register and settle the merger after it passes the review of federal regulatory authorities.
After roughly introducing the overview of this acquisition, Daenerys Entertainment Group CEO Amy Pascal, Daenerys Entertainment President Robert Iger, who is in charge of television business, Metropolitan ABC Group Chairman and CEO Tom Murphy and Warren Buffett, the majority shareholder of Metropolis ABC Group, also visited the studio of "Good Morning America" to elaborate on the impact of this merger on the two companies and the entire media industry. He also answered calls from some Wall Street analysts on the spot. and reply.
Before the 30-minute special report ended, this sudden industry earthquake had already spread throughout the United States.
In the past few months, with the lifting of the ban on media integration, the industry has realized that Daenerys Entertainment has a high probability of acquiring a major TV network. However, according to various news that has been circulated before, most people are more optimistic about NBC. Or CBS will become a target for Daenerys Entertainment.
Connecticut, in a manor in the northern suburbs of Greenwich.
Less than ten minutes after ABC's news started, Simon had already received three calls from various parties. Two were congratulatory from Time Warner's Terry Semel and MGM's Shirley Lansing, and one was from CBS Chairman Larry Tisch made a somewhat exasperated questioning call.
Irene Lauder dressed up carefully and came to the living room where Simon was, when she heard the man leaning on the sofa counterattack in a calm and somewhat rude manner.
"Larry, if you are sincere, I never saw this from you from the beginning. Don't tell me that the news of Daenerys' contact with CBS was accidentally leaked. Everyone knows what happened."
She just spent half an hour getting dressed. From last night to now, she spent most of her time being affectionate. Irene Lauder didn’t talk about work matters with the man, so she didn’t know yet that Daenerys Entertainment had confirmed the acquisition. Regarding the ABC incident, I sat down next to Simon and noticed that the "Good Morning America" special report was turned on on the TV. Only then did I finally understand what happened.
Another big business worth tens of billions of dollars.
If this continues, maybe Simon Westeros will rule the United States, as some media have exaggerated.
However, because he was her man, thinking of this possibility, Irene Lauder only felt more admiration and admiration in her heart. Women instinctively hope that their men will be stronger.
Simon chatted with Larry Tisch for a moment and then quickly hung up.
Irene Lauder leaned towards Simon, her eyes bright: "It's really surprising. When did you win ABC again?"
"We just reached an agreement with Buffett the day before yesterday."
Simon said, feeling the delicious feminine fragrance of Irene Lauder. He reached out and grabbed the girl's face, which was not beautiful but became more and more charming as he looked at it. He was about to move in for a kiss when his cell phone rang again. He answered it casually. .
This time it was Michael Eisner calling, also congratulating him.
Without letting go of the girl's face, Simon rubbed and felt the warmth of his fingertips while talking to Eisner on the phone. After a while, he simply reached out and pulled the girl over and hugged her in his arms. After chatting for a while, he hung up the phone and just lowered his head to kiss her. The middle girl's lips, the phone rang again.
This kind of occasional little interest from men is also an important reason for Irene Lauder's fall. She also enjoys this feeling.
Her interest was disturbed, and she suddenly became angry. She stared at her eyes and opened her small mouth to bite. Simon had already smiled and avoided it. He just filled it with a finger and came over. Irene Lauder took it in her mouth and bit it twice. Just let him go.
After another call with Jonathan Friedman ended, Simon pulled the still somewhat depressed Irene Lauder to stand up: "Let's go, it's time to go to work."
Irene Lauder stood up following the man's strength, her body was a little limp, and her tone was a little coquettish: "Suddenly I don't want to go to work."
Simon was easy to talk to and said with a smile: "No problem, how about you stay here to rest for a day."
Irene Lauder took one of Simon's hands: "Stay with me."
"That's not possible. I'm very busy today. But maybe you can come over in the evening."
Simon was not here, so what was the point of staying here? Irene Lauder had no choice but to hold the man's arm and walk out together.
After just a few words of conversation, Simon's cell phone rang again.
After making a phone call, the two left the villa, and the helicopter was already waiting on the lawn of the manor.
The man personally helped them board the helicopter. The two of them entered the cabin and sat down. Watching Simon's assistant and bodyguard follow them, Irene Lauder no longer felt guilty as before. Just last month, after a period of After thinking about it, she took the initiative to break off the engagement with her fiancé.
Now single.
She is only 25 years old. Since she really feels wrong, there is no need to wrong herself.
As for the status of a certain guy next to her, it was not her turn to care about it anyway, and she did not expect to snatch this man away from Janet Westeros. Perhaps, how long would this relationship last? Years later, you may meet the right person and then forget about him.
The more than 40-kilometer journey from Greenwich to Manhattan took less than fifteen minutes from takeoff to landing for the Black Hawk helicopter, which was completely customized according to Navy One. At around 8:30, the huge Black Hawk helicopter landed on the banks of the Hudson River. , some other helicopters on the surrounding tarmac were immediately made to look like children's toys.
Even though she also comes from a wealthy family, Erin Lauder couldn't help but feel a little sense of vanity after getting off this Black Hawk helicopter modified from a military UH-60. When I took a helicopter to Greenwich last night, I asked out of curiosity and learned that the cost of such a customized helicopter reached 35 million US dollars, which is equivalent to the price of the Gulfstream V ultra-long-range business jet. Erin Lauder was a little stunned.
I have flown in helicopters many times since I was a child, and I probably know that those small helicopters, even if they are slightly more expensive, only cost 3 to 5 million U.S. dollars. 35 million U.S. dollars each is a waste of money, and a certain guy actually ordered it all at once. Four aircraft, that’s 140 million.
The Lauder family couldn't afford it anyway.
Even if I really buy it, I can’t afford it.
Estee Lauder went public at the end of April, and the Lauder family cashed out a total of US$320 million. This was the largest amount of cash the Lauder family had ever seen since the establishment of Estee Lauder. Moreover, because of some tax avoidance methods, it was criticized by a lot of media. , and was even targeted by the IRS and Congress. If she hadn't tried to call him quietly, she would have been almost opened for investigation.
I received a call from him personally the next day, saying it was done.
The final result of the matter was to let it go.
The engagement had not been terminated at that time, so Irene Lauder did not mention the matter to her family. She kept it secretly in her heart. Occasionally she felt that she owed him a favor, and then comforted herself. This is what a guy should do. , who let him bully himself like that.
Simon was headed to Daenerys Entertainment's East Coast headquarters in Greenwich, and Eileen Lauder's destination was the Estée Lauder Companies in Midtown.
The two left the Hudson River and walked together for a while. Simon first got off the car in Greenwich, and then asked the driver to take Eileen Lauder to Midtown.
Entering the office building purchased a few years ago, many executives were already waiting in the conference room. Amy Pascal and Robert Iger, who had just participated in the live TV broadcast, and several executives from Metropolis ABC also followed. Come.
The specific schedule and related arrangements for the merger between the two parties will be discussed in the morning.
The merger is far from settled.
The biggest obstacle is the antitrust review by the Federal Ministry of Justice. Even if there are no setbacks, this matter will take at least one or two months to complete.
Before submitting it to the Ministry of Justice for review, Daenerys also needs to conduct a more in-depth review of the assets and liabilities details and business operations of Metropolis ABC Group. This was already being done before the acquisition, but before the acquisition was finalized, Metropolis Many internal information of ABC Group will not be open to Daenerys Entertainment.
In addition, details such as personnel appointments after the merger between the two parties still need to be finalized. Generally speaking, it would be lucky if this merger can be completed before the autumn season opens in September. The subsequent specific merger, integration and even structural adjustment of the two companies to finally achieve synergy will take one or two years to complete.
Simon started his day's work in Greenwich Village. At 9:30 in the morning, the U.S. stock market had just opened, and the capital market responded directly to the newly announced merger and acquisition.
The share price of Metropolis ABC Group continued to rise throughout the trading day. When the market closed at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the company's share price soared from US$145.125 at the close of last Friday to US$163.25, a single-day increase of 12.5%.
In usual M&A cases, the party initiating the M&A often sees its share price fall after the news becomes public.
Daenerys Entertainment breaks this pattern.
While Metropolis ABC Group's stock price surged, Daenerys Entertainment's stock price also rose throughout the day on Monday from $73.75 last Friday to $76.25, a single-day increase of 3.4%, and the market value hit a new high, reaching $161.1 billion. . For a large entertainment group with a market value of 100 billion, the seemingly modest increase in stock price actually means that the market value of Daenerys Entertainment Group has increased by 4.9 billion US dollars in one day, which is equivalent to the Metropolitan ABC Group in a single day. That’s more than double the increase in market capitalization of $2.1 billion.
Therefore, it can also be seen that the market is optimistic about the merger of the two companies.
Some people are happy and some are worried.
In the entire television industry sector, except for Metropolitan ABC Group, the stock prices of other companies have been impacted to varying degrees on this trading day. CBS, which was rumored to be suddenly 'abandoned' some time ago, is undoubtedly the most unlucky one.
Due to the leakage of merger and acquisition news some time ago, CBS Group's stock price has increased by more than 30% in the recent period. As of last Friday, CBS Group's market value had reached US$8.7 billion.
However, as news broke in the morning that Daenerys had reached a merger agreement with Metropolis ABC Group, CBS Group's stock price plummeted by 17% on that same day, and its market value fell directly back to US$7.2 billion. CBS Group shareholders were Book losses amounted to US$1.5 billion.
This is why Larry Tisch, chairman and majority shareholder of CBS Group, was so angry when he called Simon on the phone this morning.
Due to the continuous splits in the 1980s, including the sale of assets such as Columbia Records, and the failure to develop its own cable TV business in recent years, CBS is the smallest of the three established television networks, and its main assets are pure CBS public television network.
Now, $1.5 billion in market value has been wiped out in one day, and this negative impact is even beyond Larry Tisch's expectation.
Based on the Tisch family's 18% stake in CBS Group, this is equivalent to a loss of US$270 million in family wealth in one day.
How can you not feel distressed
The matter didn't stop there. As CBS Group's stock price plummeted, other CBS Group shareholders who had been suppressed by Larry Tisch in the past also jumped out and accused him of serious mistakes in the merger negotiations between CBS and Daenerys. There are even calls for Larry Tisch to step down.
In a state of panic, Larry Tisch publicly stated that afternoon that he would file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice, requesting to stop the merger of Daenerys and Metropolis ABC on the grounds that the merger of the two companies would create a serious industry monopoly.
As soon as Larry Tisch's statement was released, Daenerys immediately took countermeasures, threatening to withdraw projects such as "The Story of the Emergency Room" that are currently cooperating with CBS. CBS had already regretted the loss of "The House of Beverly Hills" due to failure to negotiate a price, which allowed the Housewives series to flourish outside the walls of Daenerys Entertainment's USA basic cable network.
If it loses last year's newly-emerged ratings star "ER", CBS' original advantage over ABC will immediately be overtaken or even overtaken.
Although still speaking tough, CBS actually softened its tone immediately.
Simon didn't care too much about the attitude of the CBS family. He was more worried about the collective backlash of the American media industry.