Unknowingly, six hours had passed, and it was three o'clock in the afternoon. In order not to miss the latest news, all the reporters waiting outside the Disney headquarters did not leave. If you have a partner, you can send someone else to buy lunch. If you come alone, the reporter will only be hungry.
Elizabeth of the "Philadelphia Evening News" is one of the starving people. Compared with those well-known national newspapers, the "Philadelphia Evening News" is not too big in scale and reputation. It can only send a reporter to Los Angeles to track and interview Hollywood. One of the largest mergers and acquisitions in history.
In Los Angeles in January, even at the warmest moment in the afternoon, the temperature was only a dozen degrees. Elizabeth squeezed into the crowd, tightened her beige windbreaker, and looked at the gate of the Disney headquarters again, expecting some news. out.
In a conference room at the Disney headquarters, the confrontation between Viacom and Firefly has entered the final moment. The bids of the two parties have soared from the initial US$5.5 billion to US$6.3 billion. Currently, Firefly is leading the offer.
On Viacom's side, as Bernie Sanders analyzed at the beginning, after the bid exceeded US$6 billion, Redstone's mood became obviously hesitant and anxious.
Eric thought that Redstone's price increase would be reduced to tens of millions, but not too long ago, Viacom directly offered a price of 6.5 billion US dollars.
"Eric, this must be Viacom's last bargaining chip," Bernie Sanders said in Eric's ear after hearing the offer.
Eric glanced at his watch, it was 3:15, and it was 5 o'clock before get off work time. At the same time, the final bidding time for this acquisition was less than two hours.
At this moment. Redstone directly increased the offer from 6.3 billion to 6.5 billion. The intention of the last fight is indeed obvious. Unfortunately, Viacom did not know how many chips Eric had in his hands from the beginning to the end. In the face of the huge sum of US $8 billion in Eric's hands, Viacom was not enough. The $7 billion limit is ultimately impossible to win.
After some discussion, Firefly quickly added 100 million US dollars, pushing the price up to 6.6 billion.
After Viacom's acquisition team heard the Firefly offer, there was a brief uproar. Then ask Disney to suspend. Afterwards, Lei Shidong hurried away with those people.
It took a full half an hour before Lei Shidong returned to the conference room with his main deputy. Eric saw at a glance that the number of people on Lei Shidong's side was reduced by half.
"Redstone had a big fight with several other shareholders, and I estimate that $6.6 billion has exceeded the psychological limit of other shareholders of Viacom," Chris, who had just left and returned soon, said to Eric and Bo Nee Sanders said in a low voice: "The shareholders who broke up with Redstone have already left, and they are still publicly telling the reporters outside at the gate that they will no longer support Redstone. If Redstone insists on going his own way, they will Sue Redstone for abuse of power. Therefore, if Redstone continues to make an offer, it will be difficult for Viacom to complete this acquisition."
Eric glanced at Michael Eisner not far away, and asked, "Does Disney know the news?"
Chris understood that Eric was asking Disney shareholders. Disney management has always been leaning towards Viacom. If they learn of this news, they will probably hide it from shareholders: "I have asked people to disclose the news to Disney's shareholder representatives. They must know what choice to make. "Speaking of which, Chris showed a congratulatory smile, patted Eric on the shoulder lightly and said: "So, Eric, Disney is yours."
Eric finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. After half a year of preparation, half a year of busy work, and a full twelve months, the dust finally settled.
Viacom representatives quickly dropped the bid, as Chris expected.
Lei Shidong looked unwilling, and looked at Eric as if he wanted to swallow him whole. Although he intends to increase the price to 7 billion US dollars, although he is angry, Redstone has not lost his mind. He knows that this time is not like the hostile acquisition of Viacom a few years ago, when his acquisition chip National Entertainment was completely personal. Property, he has absolute control, but this time, Viacom's shares are not in his hands alone, if the price is forced to increase, without the support of other shareholders, the bid will still be declared invalid in the end.
Michael Eisner, who was originally full of confidence, felt uneasy when Viacom requested a timeout. Hearing that Viacom gave up on the acquisition, Michael Eisner's face turned pale instantly, and his whole body rose. There was a great sense of anger and powerlessness.
Frank Wells, who was sitting next to Michael Eisner, saw his reaction, so he took the initiative to do Michael Eisner's work and stood up to announce the results of Firefly.
Although he had different thoughts, after the results came out, there was still applause in the meeting room. Lei Shidong led his subordinates and quickly left without saying a word. Michael Eisner, who had recovered, took a deep look at Ai Rui. Ke, whispered a few words to Frank Wells, got up and walked out of the meeting room, but the representatives of Disney's shareholders came over to congratulate Eric cordially.
…
Outside the Disney headquarters building, from the moment some shareholders of Viacom left, all reporters had already guessed the result of the bidding. Not long after, Redstone led people away, which proved the result of the bidding .
However, the Firefly team didn't come out after a full hour because they needed to sign the relevant contract with the Disney management.
"Could it be that you left through the back door?"
"Firefly definitely hopes to expand the influence of this acquisition. How could it be possible to leave through the back door? This is not a scandal."
"What do you think the transaction price will be?"
"Around 6.5 billion. One of my classmates works on Wall Street. I asked him about it and he told me."
Elizabeth heard the discussions of colleagues around her, and lowered her head to check the camera and recorder silently. At this moment, I don't know who shouted "Come out". Elizabeth quickly raised her head, and saw the gate of the Disney headquarters at a glance, and the security guards quickly organized a human wall. Seven or eight middle-aged people of different ages walked here, surrounded by a young man in his early twenties.
The crowd of reporters began to riot. Elizabeth also quickly pushed forward. Perhaps because of luck, Elizabeth squeezed to the front of the crowd.
"... Tomorrow at nine o'clock in the morning, Firefly will hold a press conference at the headquarters, I hope everyone can come on time," Eric said briefly, and then signaled the security to push away the crowd.
Elizabeth had just raised her camera and snapped a few photos at Eric, only to see that Eric had finished speaking and was about to leave.
The mass of journalists was of course unlikely to be satisfied with this answer. They waited for a whole day in order to get some news as soon as possible. Therefore, before Eric's footsteps lifted, the crowd exploded with a violent momentum, and surrounded Eric and others.
"ah!!!"
Because Elizabeth was holding the camera, her center of gravity moved up. At the moment when the crowd was exerting force, she happened to be stepped on her heel and fell forward in an instant. The camera fell to pieces with a snap. The whole person also let out a cry.
Eric saw a girl in a beige windbreaker being pushed down, and quickly motioned for the bodyguards to come forward to save her. If someone is trampled on at this time, that good thing will become a bad thing.
Fortunately, the reporter group was still a little sane. After hearing a woman screaming, they realized that an accident had happened, and the crowding force was much weaker. The two bodyguards beside Eric quickly helped Elizabeth up, and took advantage of the situation to protect her. Eric and his group walked towards the parking lot.
"Camera, my camera," Elizabeth woke up from a brief moment of fear, and found that the camera on her chest was gone, and quickly turned to look behind her. That Canon camera is the property of the newspaper, worth more than 5,000 US dollars. When it arrived, the editor-in-chief told her to use it carefully. If it was lost, she would have to pay for it herself, and her two-month job would be lost. .
A powerful big hand immediately grabbed Elizabeth who was about to run back: "Miss, I will have someone pick it up later, let's get away first and then talk about it."
Elizabeth looked at the young man who was pulling her, and then at the crowd behind her. Somewhat at a loss, she obeyed the young man's strength, came to the parking lot together, and followed him into a black car.
"Carter, help that lady find her camera, it seems to be at the place where she fell," Eric said to the bodyguards in the front row after finishing.
"Okay, Mr. Williams," the bodyguard finished, picked up the walkie-talkie and said a few words to the outside.
The car started slowly, and it took a while for Elizabeth to understand her situation. In a daze, she actually sat next to Eric Williams.
This discovery made Elizabeth instantly forget the pain from the fall on her knees. She glanced at the young man beside her from the corner of her eye and found that the other party was also looking at her. He stroked his hair, but wondered if it would look too contrived, and finally put down his hand gently.
Eric looked at the petite woman beside her, with short black hair, straight nose, big eyes, slightly thin lips, with a strange sense of sexiness.
"Can I have a laugh?" Eric asked suddenly.
Elizabeth was stunned for a moment before she realized: "Mr. Williams, are you talking to me?"
Seeing the other party turn his head to face him, Eric became more certain and repeated, "Can I have a laugh?"
"Hmm...um," Elizabeth didn't dare to look directly at Eric's sharp and handsome face, nodded with a little inferiority, pursed the corners of her mouth, and pulled out a smile.
Seeing the iconic bad smile in front of him, Eric also laughed, and at the same time made sure that he did not recognize the wrong person: "Someone said that when you smile, you always seem to have some bad idea?"
Elizabeth nodded subconsciously, then shook her head violently: "No, I don't."
Eric looked at the girl's bewildered look, smiled a few more times, and said, "I don't know your name yet?"
"Oh, hello, Mr. Williams, my name is Elizabeth Fei," Elizabeth introduced politely.
Eric continued to ask, "Where's your middle name? I happen to know an Elizabeth too, so I'll confuse the two of you."
"You can call me Tina, my full name is Elizabeth Tina Fey."
It really is Tina Fey.
Eric felt that things had become very interesting: "How did you think of being a reporter?"
"I submitted articles to newspapers when I was in middle school, and I studied journalism in college," Tina Fey thought Eric's question was a bit strange, so she answered seriously.
"Have you ever thought of doing something else?"
"Yes, I applied for the theater major at the University of Virginia, but I failed."
"It's a pity," Eric said, shaking his head. In the original time and space, Tina Fey has written several good works. Eric has watched the other party's "Mean Girls" and the TV series "Comedy ". Perhaps because she has worked as a screenwriter on "Saturday Night Live" for many years, Tina Fey's narrative is slightly exaggerated, and always has a slightly "Saturday Night Live" spoof style.
Tina Fey didn't know what Eric was thinking, but she quickly realized her identity and asked tentatively, "Mr. Williams, I... can I interview you?"
It is always fate to meet an 'acquaintance' from the previous life, Eric did not refuse, nodded and smiled: "Okay."
Hearing Eric's answer, Tina Fey excitedly took out the recorder from her satchel, pressed the recording button, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Mr. Williams, what is the final offer for Firefly to acquire Disney?" ?”
"$6.6 billion."
Tina Fey didn't expect Eric to be so straightforward, and then asked boldly: "Then, after completing this acquisition, will you put Firefly under the Disney banner?"
"No, Disney will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Firefly, just like Sony Pictures has with Columbia Pictures."
"Will Disneyland be renamed Fireflyland?"
"Disneyland is already a very mature brand, and Firefly will not change its name rashly."
"Became one of the owners of the seven major film companies in Hollywood at the age of twenty, how do you feel now?"
"It's just started, and there's still a long way to go."
"So the fireflies will continue to expand?"
"certainly."
"Which direction will the firefly expand in the next cloth?"
"There is no plan yet. Firefly will focus on the integration with Disney and its own development in the next few years."
"..."
"..."
The two kept asking and answering quickly. After a series of questions, Tina Fey flashed a sly look on her face, and suddenly asked, "How many girlfriends do you have?"
"have… "
Eric stopped talking in time, looked at Tina Fei with a sly face, reached out his hand like lightning, and snatched the recorder before she could react. Tina Fei saw that Eric would A large part of the tape was turned upside down, and he hurriedly begged for mercy: "Don't, don't wash too much, just the last part, I'll come, it's okay if I come in person."
Eric blocked Tina Fei's grasping little hand with one hand, and skillfully pressed the cleaning button, Tina Fei immediately let out a 'sorrow'. (To be continued..)