Westeros Corporate Headquarters in Midtown, Manhattan.
Simon arrived in New York on Sunday evening and spent all day Monday holding meetings with Westeros management and other subsidiaries via video link about bond issuance plans for the second half of the year.
Speaking of which, not only does Simon's assets now exceed one trillion US dollars, but the total amount of cash held by the entire Westeros system is also quite terrifying.
For example, the core Westeros Company, through the continuous contribution of profit dividends by its subsidiaries and the continuous reduction and cash out of large-scale holdings in the first half of the year, the cash and various short-term convertibles held on the books of Westeros Company at this stage The total value of the bonds reached $12.7 billion.
This is despite the continuous investment in various aspects of Westeros Corporation and the continuous large-scale investment in recent years to buy the stocks of established corporate giants such as Boeing, Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, General Electric, Wal-Mart, and Berkshire Hathaway. Under the premise, otherwise the cash holdings of Westeros Corporation would be even greater.
At the same time, through stock investments that generally hold more than 5%, the Westeros system has also obtained a large number of board seats of established American corporate giants. This is actually quietly strengthening the Westeros system's control over The influence of the U.S. economy and even potential control over the country.
The United States is a standard capitalist country.
Capital controls everything.
Controlling capital also means controlling everything, and it is more secretive.
In fact, it is not a good thing for a company to hold too much cash. The US dollar continues to depreciate due to inflation. If it is not reinvested as soon as possible, the more cash it hoards and the longer it lasts, the greater the potential losses will be. However, as the U.S. bull market reaches its peak again, Simon has stopped buying stocks of various corporate giants, and other investments have also begun to tighten.
The main reason is that it is very uneconomical to invest now.
A stock that can be sold for $100 now may be available for $20 or 30 in a year or two, when the stock market bubble bursts and the market enters a bear market cycle again.
On the other hand, because the market is so good, financing at this stage is easier and the cost is relatively lower, especially for a series of fast-growing and reputable companies in the Westeros system, so now is the best time to hoard cash to wait for good times.
After a one-day meeting, the Westeros system’s bond issuance plan for the second half of the year was basically finalized.
Start with AOL.
After the promulgation of the new Telecommunications Act, the legal restrictions restricting AOL's comprehensive local expansion no longer exist. Now, on the one hand, AOL is further investing in telecommunications infrastructure, and on the other hand, it is also beginning to prepare to enter the field of cable TV operators. .
As we all know, large-scale telecommunications investment is a very expensive business.
Just like China, in order to develop its telecommunications industry, it has to promote state-owned telecommunications companies to go public overseas to raise funds.
In recent years, AOL has actually been issuing bonds non-stop. Of course, it will not miss this time. It plans to issue another 10-year or 20-year long-term bond in July with a total amount of US$3 billion. This amount of money This ensures that AOL will not be short of funds for at least the next two years.
The outside world knows how much AOL has burned money in recent years. Starting from this company will appear very legitimate and can minimize the rebound in the capital market.
Moreover, all bond issuance plans in the second half of the year will mainly target overseas investors. This is also done to avoid unpredictable impacts on the domestic capital market of the United States.
After AOL, Verizon went public in August and was suspended.
Next.
In September, Cisco, $2 billion.
In October, as the presidential election was approaching, it was suspended.
In November, after the US election, Nokia, Tinker Bayer and Johnston Holdings invested US$1 billion each.
In December, Westeros Corporation headquarters, $2 billion.
The entire bond issuance plan totals US$10 billion.
The main purpose of such decentralized execution is to reduce the disruption of the Westeros System bond issuance to the U.S. stock market.
In fact, for people with a little knowledge of finance, the continuous large-scale reduction of holdings in the Westeros system in the first half of the year has actually been very obvious to some people that it is time to stop and a crisis is coming. However, many things in this world are like this. Most people understand the truth, but few can truly make decisions rationally and in accordance with the truth.
Buffett's saying, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful" simply sums up the true meaning of risk in the capital market. Unfortunately, there are always people who want to make more money, there are always people who think they can escape at a critical moment, and there are always people who think they will not be so unlucky.
The results can be imagined.
Therefore, as long as a pot of boiling water is not poured directly on it, most 'frogs' will not think about escaping. The phased bond issuance plan of the Westeros system is another form of boiling the frog in warm water, which is also the result Simon is happy to see.
As long as the bubble doesn't burst because of the financing practices of the Westeros system.
This pot is really too big.
After a day's work, there was a family dinner for the Raybould family in the evening, and Robert Egger's family, who had also returned from the West Coast, was invited.
The next day is Tuesday, June 11th.
Of course, a bond issuance plan worth tens of billions of dollars cannot be completed in one day, but James Raybould is responsible for coordinating the follow-up.
Simon was not idle either.
Tuesday was mostly spent on the East Coast side of Daenerys Entertainment’s TV business.
It is summer, the off-season for the TV industry, and the TV promotion season in May has ended. Currently, major TV stations are mainly preparing for the autumn season, launching various pilot episodes to observe market feedback.
Daenerys Entertainment is actually still continuing to digest and integrate the Metropolis ABC Group it absorbed last year, so it dare not relax even in the off-season. What’s more, next month is the Olympic Games. Even if it fails to obtain the broadcast rights for Olympic events, its various companies The TV station still has a lot of relevant content to follow up on.
There is another very important item.
Regarding the ongoing negotiations for ESPN to buy out the rights to broadcast NFL games.
This matter started when Daenerys Entertainment took over Metropolis ABC last year. Until now, the negotiations have lasted for more than half a year. The main reason is that both parties are not in a hurry and have been grinding it out slowly because the existing broadcast contract will not be announced until next year. It expires at the beginning of each year at the Super Bowl, which is the end of the football league season, so even talking about it last year was useless.
However, no matter how long the wrangling continues, there will eventually be results.
At present, several core terms involved have been basically finalized.
8 years, 9 billion US dollars.
This is exactly the price that Simon remembers. In fact, it is also the upper limit of the price Simon set to ESPN CEO Steve Bernstein before the negotiations began.
That's why it took so long.
After all, after Metropolis ABC Group was acquired by Daenerys Entertainment, the National Football League will inevitably have the idea of taking advantage of big players. Daenerys Entertainment is such a fat sheep, and it will not be slaughtered until it is used.
Unfortunately, what Simon dislikes most is being taken advantage of.
9 billion US dollars in 8 years. Compared with previous broadcast prices, this asking price is already very high. If the National Football League is still greedy, Simon would rather not buy it. The worst case scenario is to buy out the NBA first.
Now the National Football League basically knows the upper limit of the offer that Daenerys Entertainment can offer, but there is no sign of a breakup. It is expected that a formal contract will be signed in July, but it will not be implemented until the new season in the second half of next year. , the US$9 billion broadcast fee will also be paid in batches after the contract is officially executed.
At five o'clock in the afternoon, after finishing his day's work, Simon rushed from the East Coast headquarters of Daenerys Entertainment in the Upper West Side to the East Village in lower Manhattan.
In an office building next to First Avenue in the East Village District.
As soon as Simon arrived, he was greeted by Grace Spurter, who was obviously waiting.
This is an old-looking red brick office building, about ten floors.
After learning by phone over the weekend that Simon was coming, Grace asked him if he wanted to see the girls she had collected over the past few months.
In fact, it is the new year’s Elite World Elite Model Competition.
The competition started in April. After selecting hundreds of thousands of applicants from all over the world, so far, we have entered the top 64. The last sixty-four girls were able to come to North America and become Elite's official contract customers. At the same time, they also participated in various trainings and finals of the model competition.
Unlike "American Idol" launched by Daenerys Entertainment last year, the process of Elite Model Contest is relatively simple.
Moreover, artificial tendencies have been very serious in past events.
This was also the main reason why Elite's scandal broke out in the late 1990s and led to the company's decline.
Because Elite executives, judges and even ordinary employees all regard the modeling competition as a hunting ground, Linda Evangelista's ex-husband Gaillard Mari showed a thick stack of photos during the BBC secret visit and said It was against this background that the 'big talk' of sleeping with all the girls there came. As a result, a scandal led to the rapid decline of Elite, which was in full swing.
The trees fell and the hozens scattered.
Now, Elite has been taken over by Grace and has indirectly become a member of the Westeros system. Of course, Simon will not allow this to happen again.
Under Grace's strict supervision, this year's Elite World Elite Model Competition was much more formal than in previous years.
For example, Linda Evangelista's ex-husband Gaillard Mari, the president of Elite's Paris branch, was eliminated last year. Now Elite can be said to be dominated by Grace alone, and it is no longer the era of John Casablanca. Having lost its enterprising and undisciplined state, the entire company has regained its vitality, various business processes have gradually been standardized, and the probability of certain things happening has become much smaller.
Of course it cannot be prevented.
In such a circle, a slap in the face can't actually make a difference. Some people are hunters, and naturally there are also people who are willing to become prey in order to get higher.
Frankly speaking, Simon himself is the hunter standing at the top of the food chain, so he definitely doesn't like other predators looking around in his hunting ground. Therefore, it promotes changes within Elite, because after Elite's reform, all employees including its subordinates The income of models is rising, and the value of this job has increased significantly. In this case, especially those executives who have the potential to become hunters, it is really not worth the loss if they lose their jobs because they covet the targets that the big boss may like.
After all, keeping warm can make you think.
In any case, jobs are more important.
Simon and Grace entered the building elevator together with several other entourages. Looking at the obviously mottled appearance of the elevator, they asked, "Why did you choose this place?"
There were other people around, but Grace just leaned against Simon gently, without appearing too intimate. She turned to look at the man next to her, and said softly in her tone: "Because it's cheap. I used to live in Greenwich, and later in Soho. Now it’s the East Village, and in a few years, maybe it’s going to be Brooklyn.”
Simon smiled and said, "Elite shouldn't be short of money, right?"
Elite was very profitable during the John Casablanca era, otherwise it would not have been able to rent a three-story office space on Fifth Avenue as its headquarters. Now, after downsizing and opening up new businesses, Elite's income has increased, but its expenses have decreased, and its profits will only increase. Gao, maybe in a few years, Elite will be able to build its own headquarters building like CAA in Hollywood.
Grace said: "Of course there is no shortage, but I have to be responsible to the shareholders. Moreover, if I save some, I can also provide benefits to everyone. I can naturally save unnecessary expenses."'
Simon curled up his lips: "Such a good boss, I want to come work for you."
Grace just pursed her lips and chuckled.
The elevator door opened quickly. This was the seventh floor. Everyone walked out of the elevator, turned left and came to a door. Entering the door was an open room, about seven or eight meters wide and twenty meters long. It was obviously designed as an office space, but it was used as a practice room at this time.
The first feeling when you enter the door.
It's all legs.
It's all legs.
It’s all legs…
The main reason is that a large group of tall girls wearing tights and practicing their body steps are really eye-catching. Moreover, they are almost the same height, wearing white vests and black tights, all showing a small waist. This uniform feeling is simply It’s good news for obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Seeing Grace, the Elite female leader, bring a young man in, the girls who were training all looked over curiously. They were confused at first, and then felt that someone seemed familiar, it seemed... Simon Westeros
Sixty-four girls, no matter where they come from in the world, probably don't know the name Simon Westeros. There are also very few people who have never seen Simon's appearance in various media. At this time, the real person was face to face, and after repeated confirmation, everyone's eyes lit up.
To be able to reach this stage among hundreds of thousands of girls, apart from their excellent body and appearance, none of these girls are stupid.
Of course you know what the name Simon Westeros means.
At least, if you think about the other party's series of identities, it's like a ladder to reach the sky step by step!
As more and more girls reacted, the atmosphere at the scene inevitably became restless. Even the training teachers responsible for training the girls looked at Simon frequently. Everyone also realized why it was already past the 5 o'clock time to get off work. , we will have to rehearse for another hour today.
It was obviously for the arrival of the big shot not far away.
Simon did not go to the crowd, but sat down on a simple bench against the wall. He took a roster from Grace. Seeing the woman's inquiring eyes, he smiled and said, "Let them continue, I'll take a look."
Naturally, Grace had no objections and called a person in charge at the scene to explain. After the other person walked away, she saw the man patting the empty seat next to her and then sat down next to him.