It was Sunday, July 3rd, at the Los Angeles Country Club in Beverly Hills.
As Simon got out of his car in the parking lot, a young assistant in a white shirt came up to him and said, "Mr. Westeros, Mr. Welch and the others are already waiting for you. Please follow me".
Following the young man into Los Angeles' largest top-tier golf course, Simon quickly spotted the other three men chatting and laughing at the edge of the course. Noticing Simon's arrival, the three walked over together. One of them, a bald man in his fifties, was Jack Welch, the current Chairman and CEO of General Electric.
"Hello, Simon, it's a pleasure to finally meet you", Jack Welch said with a gentle smile as they approached, appraising Simon. He shook Simon's hand familiarly and then introduced the other two: "This is Robert Wright. He's currently in charge of NBC's operations. And this is Larry Kuppin, a major shareholder of New World Entertainment. Haha, I'm sure you already know that".
Having unexpectedly received an invitation from Jack Welch, Simon had already done some research on this meeting and naturally recognized the other two men.
Robert Wright was originally the head of General Electric's financial services group and is now the CEO and President of NBC. Frankly, Simon felt that Jack Welch's appointment could only be described as terrible, a classic case of an amateur leading professionals.
Of course, this was an internal matter for General Electric, and Simon had no intention of offering any opinions on it.
Larry Kuppin was a major shareholder of New World Entertainment. He and another partner, Harry Sloan, jointly held over 40% of New World Entertainment's shares.
Simon greeted all three men individually, and then they all headed onto the course.
Each aware of the purpose of the meeting, none of them were in a hurry to get to the point. They just played golf and chatted casually about recent current events. Being an election year, the upcoming presidential election was naturally a very popular topic of conversation.
"That article in The New York Times about 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' was very interesting. I really think it would be a good idea to have Bush and Dukakis participate in that show", Jack Welch said on the course, changing a club from the caddy's hand. He walked back, glanced at Simon, and asked, seemingly casually, "Speaking of which, Simon, who do you support, Bush or Dukakis?"
The two major party candidates in the United States had already been decided in May of this year: incumbent Vice President George Bush and Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis.
Simon noticed Robert Wright and Larry Kuppin both subtly looking at him. He simply shrugged and said, "As a Californian, I naturally support Dukakis".
Jack Welch swung and sank the ball into the hole, nodding with satisfaction. He then turned to Simon and asked, "What if Bush wins?"
Simon watched Larry Kuppin, who was in his group, walk over with his club. He stepped aside and said, "If I have surplus funds, I'd buy as many military and oil stocks as possible".
As Simon spoke, the expressions of Robert Wright and Larry Kuppin visibly changed.
This young man had amassed a fortune of $2 billion in just two years. Although he spoke in a nonchalant tone, Robert Wright and Larry Kuppin immediately took his words to heart, determined to thoroughly research the matter later.
Jack Welch concealed his inner turmoil, watching Larry Kuppin miss the ball as expected, and pressed, "Simon, what do you mean?"
Simon looked at the ball Larry Kuppin had hit with a seemingly regretful expression and said, "It's simple. If Bush takes office, there will likely be war, and war is the quickest factor to drive up oil prices".
Robert Wright interjected at this point, "Simon, if you made these statements public, they would definitely cause strong controversy".
"That's why I would never say such things in public".
Jack Welch and the others chuckled in agreement.
The four played a few more holes. Jack Welch, who had been waiting for Simon to speak first, found that the young man's patience seemed to be even greater than that of the three middle-aged men. He had no choice but to take the initiative and get to the point, saying, "Simon, regarding New World Entertainment, I still hope you'll consider my suggestion from a while ago".
The two stood on the green watching Robert Wright and Larry Kuppin hit their shots. Simon glanced at Jack Welch and said, "Now? Jack, aren't you going to adjust the offer?"
'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?', which had just become a massive hit, was projected to bring in over a hundred million dollars in profit for Daenerys Entertainment. If Daenerys Entertainment were a publicly traded company, even with a P/E (price-earnings) ratio of 10, its market value would exceed a billion dollars.
In his previous calls with Simon, Jack Welch had proposed using New World Entertainment shares as leverage to acquire a stake in Daenerys Entertainment, but his valuation of Daenerys Entertainment was far below $1 billion.
"I have to say, your ability to make money is truly astonishing", Jack Welch said. "However, Simon, I heard that Daenerys Entertainment and ABC haven't reached an agreement on profit distribution, and you're still at an impasse. The prospects for this project aren't that certain".
"The profit share I reserved for ABC exceeded the profitability of all their TV shows in recent years".
Jack Welch said, "However, Daenerys Entertainment seems to be asking for even more. Aren't you worried that ABC might actually abandon this project? As far as I know, according to the contract, Daenerys Entertainment can no longer transfer this project to other TV networks".
Simon shook his head and said, "If ABC gives up on this project simply because they feel Daenerys Entertainment is getting too much and they're unbalanced, then I can only let them remain unbalanced. I would certainly feel some regret, but abandoning this show wouldn't have as big an impact on Daenerys Entertainment as you might imagine. On the contrary, it would actually be beneficial, because in the next round of negotiations, Daenerys Entertainment's competitors would realize that if I don't want to compromise, I won't compromise".
Jack Welch said, "But you really want New World Entertainment, don't you? Simon, if you want to get what you want, but you're unwilling to pay enough, that's definitely not going to work."
"If I don't make an offer, Jack, the most likely outcome for New World Entertainment is bankruptcy liquidation. At that point, the creditors' settlement priority will be very low. You might only recover half of your 220 million dollar loan. Right now, I can guarantee that General Electric will recover all of its funds. That is my price".
"Simon, you seem very resistant to collaborating with others, and that's not good. Even at General Electric, we often form joint ventures with other companies".
Simon saw Larry Kuppin and Robert Wright finish a hole, and as they walked off the green together, he asked, "Jack, why do you collaborate with other companies?"
"This allows us to fully utilize each other's resources to achieve a win-win outcome".
"Exactly", Simon nodded and said, "So, if I agree to General Electric taking a stake in Daenerys Entertainment, what kind of help can you offer me?"
"We own NBC, which can help distribute TV shows produced by Daenerys Entertainment. We also have strong capital to support Daenerys Entertainment's rapid expansion".
Simon nodded again, a smile appearing on his face, and said, "Jack, but the truth is, TV shows produced by Daenerys Entertainment don't lack buyers. On the contrary, if it weren't for a few TV shows in Daenerys Entertainment's hands, perhaps we wouldn't be here today. This is a seller's market. Therefore, the NBC platform doesn't hold that much appeal for me. Secondly, perhaps most Hollywood companies are constantly short on funds, but Daenerys Entertainment is not like that. My personal assets are already sufficient to support the expansion of my business, and Daenerys Entertainment's profitability is also very strong, which is enough for it to easily obtain the loans it wants from major banks. General Electric's strong financial power also doesn't hold much appeal for me".
Jack Welch shook his head and said, "Simon, you're still young. Many things aren't as simple as you imagine".
"Only those who lack strength complicate simple matters", Simon said, making a virtual swing with a golf club with one hand. "But I prefer things simple and direct, Jack. I don't mind cooperating with others, on the premise that, as you just said, both parties must be able to achieve a win-win goal, rather than me selling off my rapidly growing company at a low price just to acquire resources I don't need".
"In that case, Simon, General Electric can only try its best to secure its own interests," Jack Welch said, gesturing to Larry Kuppin. "We have already reached an agreement with Larry that General Electric will exchange debt for equity to acquire 90% of New World Entertainment's shares. The relevant contract will be signed next week. Now, if Daenerys Entertainment wants the shares we hold, General Electric's offer is 300 million dollars. In addition, NBC also hopes to acquire 'Survivor' and 'Big Brother,' two reality shows that Daenerys Entertainment is currently developing".
"I very much hope to acquire New World Entertainment, and I don't hide that fact", Simon said, stopping and turning to Jack Welch. "However, ultimately, this company's appeal to me isn't as great as you imagine. What I'm most interested in is only Marvel Entertainment, a subsidiary of this company, because I want to own a comic book company. As for New World Entertainment's other assets, Jack, these would be very helpful for Daenerys Entertainment's development, but for General Electric, they are completely dispensable. If you hold onto this company, the end result will only be its slow decay. Therefore, I will not accept such an offer. 250 million dollars, that's the absolute maximum I can offer, and that includes all of New World Entertainment's shares, not just the 90% you hold".
Jack Welch obviously couldn't have known Simon's determination to acquire Marvel. Simon's words perfectly aligned with his own view of New World Entertainment.
This entertainment company, though not on par with the Big Seven in scale, was a complete operation. Besides the Marvel Comics division, it also included New World Pictures, New World Television, New World Video, New World International, and several other production and distribution companies it had previously acquired.
However, with the stock market crash last year and the ongoing Hollywood writers' strike, New World Entertainment's operations had fallen into difficulties. Aside from Marvel Entertainment, a relatively independent subsidiary that hadn't been greatly affected and could barely maintain profitability, all other departments of New World Entertainment were operating at a loss.
If Simon didn't want it, General Electric would then only be able to choose to lay off employees and provide as few resources as possible to barely sustain these departments.
The most direct result of doing so would be an even more rapid depreciation of New World Entertainment's value.
In fact, if Simon hadn't been interested in New World Entertainment, General Electric's management had previously been more inclined to liquidate New World Entertainment through bankruptcy to recover as much of their losses as possible.
Jack Welch also stopped with Simon. After a moment of silence, he said, "Simon, what about the two reality shows NBC needs?"
Simon's words were indeed correct. If it weren't for the success of 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?', which drew General Electric's attention to Daenerys Entertainment's other three reality show projects, this meeting would not have taken place so soon.
It was already July, and the fall season was just around the corner.
Although NBC had performed better than ABC and CBS in previous years, in this generally bleak fall season after the strike, if the other networks got reality shows like 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?' from Daenerys Entertainment, and NBC remained indifferent, the result could very well be that NBC's ratings would quickly fall below the other two networks after this fall season.
As for Fox Network, it was not yet considered a threat by the Big Three.
Simon sensed the shift in Jack Welch's attitude, a slight smile appearing on his lips. He said, "Jack, if we reach an agreement on New World Entertainment, you can have one reality show. I'd recommend 'Survivor,' but I won't make too many concessions on profit distribution".
Jack Welch asked, "Simon, do you think 'Survivor' can achieve the same viewership ratings as'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?'"
"I can't guarantee it, but you've already missed one opportunity. If you miss another, I can only say it's a pity. However, among the remaining three reality shows, 'Survivor' is the one I'm most optimistic about".
Jack Welch held his golf club and remained silent for a moment, then looked at Larry Kuppin.
Larry Kuppin knew he didn't have much say here and just nodded slightly. If New World Entertainment went bankrupt, as a shareholder, his losses would actually be the greatest, because New World Entertainment's shares would become worthless. He and his partners had only spent a littleover ten million dollars to acquire New World Pictures initially, and in the subsequent years, they had basically used other people's money for capital operations. In the current situation, they could still recover some funds.
"Well then", Jack Welch no longer hesitated, extended his hand to Simon, and said, "You've got yourself a deal".