Hunting in Hollywood

Late October, and the end of the year is approaching once again.

This Halloween, it's not just Daenerys Entertainment releasing the final installment of the "Scream" series, "Scream 3."

After merging with MCA, the two Universal Studios locations in Los Angeles and Orlando will also host a grander Halloween-themed event.

Through coordination with the theme park operations team, films Simon has been involved with, such as "Scream," "Final Destination," "The Butterfly Effect," and "The Sixth Sense," will be featured in the Halloween-themed events at both Universal Studios.

On Friday, October 25th, "Scream 3" officially opens in North America with a scale of 2,672 screens.

At the same time, from October 25th to November 3rd, the ten-day Universal Studios Halloween-themed event also kicks off.

Simon has been personally following up on the final preparations for the Halloween event at Universal Studios in Burbank for the past few days, only returning to Malibu's Daenerys Studios on Friday afternoon to handle other matters.

"Based on the recent negotiation results, our final bid to fully acquire EA should be around $1.2 billion. Since we already own 35% of the company, the additional cash payment required is about $800 million."

"$800 million, huh? The amount we reduced our debt by this year was also $800 million, so this would effectively raise our debt level back to where it was at the beginning of the year when we just acquired MCA."

Nancy smiled and said, "But it's worth it. And if we continue to hesitate, the price will only get higher. Recently, internet-related concept stocks have been rising, and EA has just released the online real-time strategy game 'Dune: The Battle for Arrakis,' so you know."

In the loft office on the second floor of the studio.

Nancy Brill was discussing the progress of the EA acquisition negotiations with Simon.

Although Ystore had a very good start, Simon knew that traditional game publishers couldn't be replaced by online distributors like Ystore for a long time.

EA, with ten years of experience, has been focused on PC games since its inception, accumulating a large number of classic PC game copyrights over the years, especially in sports games, which other game companies cannot match.

Moreover, EA has a well-established PC game distribution team and years of experience in PC game production and distribution, which are the company's core assets.

Because it is attached to the vigorous Westeros system, EA's development has also been very rapid. Its stock price is incomparable to when Daenerys Entertainment invested in it two years ago.

When Daenerys Entertainment first acquired a 35% stake in EA, it only cost $50 million, and EA's market value was only $170 million at the time.

In two years, due to successful entry into the console game market, the rise of online gaming concepts, the success of the "Dune" series real-time strategy games, and the company's continued rapid expansion, EA's market value has increased fivefold.

EA's current market value is $910 million, and acquiring the entire company for $1.2 billion requires a premium. This $1.2 billion is mainly because EA maintains a relatively high price-to-earnings ratio, indicating some market bubbles.

Otherwise, it would be challenging to acquire this company with less than a 50% premium.

Although the acquisition cost has soared, considering EA's future market value potential of reaching $50 billion, Simon felt it was worth it.

$800 million is not a significant burden for Daenerys Entertainment at present.

Acquiring EA completely would also allow Daenerys Entertainment to integrate it with its own Blizzard studio.

Over the past two years, while continuing to develop the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" series, Blizzard studio has also released several other very successful console games. Combined with Nintendo's special quotas, this studio has become the leading console game company in North America.

Integrating EA, which focuses on PC games, with Blizzard, which focuses on console games, can achieve a complementary effect to a certain extent.

Nancy continued discussing other details of the EA acquisition with Simon. The petite female executive finally closed her notebook and asked about another matter: "So, Simon, what about Blockbuster? What are your plans?"

Simon shook his head slightly and said, "With Blockbuster's current market valuation, we can't afford it."

Compared to EA, which is still in the $1 billion range, Blockbuster's recent market value has reached $5.3 billion.

Moreover, Simon could clearly feel that under the meticulous management of the petite female executive, the current Blockbuster was vastly different from the one in his memory that pursued expansion blindly.

Now, it could be said without exaggeration that Blockbuster is the 'Walmart' of the video rental industry.

The Walton family occupied five positions in the top ten of the rich list this year mainly because Walmart continued to maintain strong growth despite the economic downturn in the United States.

The intense competition in the retail industry is evident from the countless types of large and small supermarkets everywhere.

Walmart standing out in such a red ocean market is something ordinary people can't achieve.

Similarly, the threshold for video rental chains is even lower than for supermarkets.

The current Blockbuster has also become the standout in this industry.

Blockbuster's data analysis system and warehousing logistics system are unmatched by other similar companies. Blockbuster's employees also have a set of business rules different from other similar chain stores.

Even the types of video tapes, placement rules, and the number of employees in Blockbuster stores are determined through repeated tests and demonstrations based on the company's increasingly sophisticated data analysis system to find the optimal solution.

All of these ultimately resulted in Blockbuster's lowest costs and highest efficiency.

Blockbuster's customer satisfaction and other data far exceed other companies in the same industry.

Blockbuster currently has over 3,000 chain stores in North America and overseas markets like the UK and Australia, without any signs of inefficiency or bureaucratic problems that plague large companies.

Blockbuster's revenue this year is expected to reach about $2.3 billion, with its market share growing from an initial 5% to the current 31%.

It is estimated that in the next two years, Blockbuster can achieve Simon's expectation of a 50% market share in North America.

Even though most of Blockbuster's revenue is reinvested in corporate expansion, the company's net profit margin this year is expected to reach around 11%, which means a net profit of $250 million.

Daenerys Entertainment only holds a 35% stake in Blockbuster, and according to conventions, this company's revenue is not included in Daenerys Entertainment's revenue data. Otherwise, Daenerys Entertainment would be a hundred-billion-dollar giant.

Because of its market value exceeding $5 billion and the company's high vitality, most investors wouldn't easily sell Blockbuster shares, and Daenerys Entertainment couldn't raise enough funds to acquire this company.

In Simon's memory, Viacom, controlled by Sumner Redstone, acquired Blockbuster for $8 billion in 1993.

Now, although Blockbuster's market value has just broken $5 billion, Simon believed that even if Redstone made a move now, $8 billion wouldn't be enough to acquire this company, and Daenerys Entertainment wouldn't sell.

Therefore, maintaining control over Blockbuster and the current 35% stake is the best choice for Daenerys Entertainment.

After talking with Nancy, Simon headed to the post-production center on the first floor. "Wonder Woman" had recently wrapped filming and returned to North America to begin post-production.

He worked until five o'clock and left on time.

Returning to the Cliffside Manor, Janet had just come home.

As her pregnancy progressed, Janet's mood became increasingly volatile and anxious, but she never neglected her responsibilities.

Sandra had reminded them about the baby shower last time, and when Simon mentioned it to Janet, despite her reluctance towards the upcoming little one, she began to prepare seriously, with the party scheduled for tomorrow noon.

With no work scheduled for the weekend, Simon personally prepared dinner while Janet, with her growing belly, hovered around the kitchen, occasionally causing a bit of trouble and chatting about various trivial matters.

Simon's cooking skills were average, and usually, a few well-trained girls took care of Janet's daily meals.

These occasional cooking sessions were more about enjoying a sense of homeliness for both of them.

"By the way, there's a surprise tomorrow. Guess what it is?"

Simon, chopping carrots, played along with her tone, "Your parents are coming?"

Janet nibbled on a slice of carrot he had cut and said, "Of course not, but close. Try again."

Simon paused for a moment and said, "Your aunt is coming?"

Then he got a slap.

Simon didn't dodge and laughed, "You asked me to guess."

"Alright, my aunt is indeed coming tomorrow, but also Pat and Sarah."

Patrick Johnston and Sarah Keston.

Simon remembered the girl with the 'Demon on Earth' tattoo on her shoulder and asked with a smile, "What are they doing in Los Angeles?"

"Of course, to see their sister," Janet said matter-of-factly, then changed her tone, gloating, "Actually, the old man has started urging them to get married."

"So, they think they can escape by coming here?"

"They probably plan to go to the UK too."

Their conversation inadvertently left out another person.

After a few more words, Janet sat on a stool by the kitchen counter, propped her face up with her arms, and continued to watch Simon prepare dinner. After a moment of silence, she said, "Simon, I don't want to have any more babies."

Simon knew Janet didn't like the feeling of being pregnant, which was a clear constraint for a woman who loved her freedom.

In this society, the higher up the social ladder, the lower the willingness to have children, likely due to this very reason

.

Simon smiled and nodded, "Then let's just have this one."

Janet frowned and said, "But how can the Westeros family have only one child? What if Mel grows up to be like Pat?"

Now that it was decided the baby would be named Melbourne, Janet started calling the little one by his nickname.

Thinking about Patrick Johnston's personality, Simon was also a bit worried. He still wanted to give this little brother-in-law a good beating for dragging him into the Packer family's boxing ring.

But for now, he had to go along with Janet. Simon calmly said, "Then you'll have to teach him well."

"I don't want to, though. I feel like throwing him to my parents."

Simon nodded, "Yeah, letting them teach him might be better."

Janet looked at Simon and suddenly hummed twice.

Simon glanced at the porridge beside him, put the chopped carrots into it, and asked with a smile, "What's wrong now?"

"Are you planning to have kids with other women?"

"Yes."

"Let me hit you first."

Simon laughed and extended his hand, and Janet slapped his palm, "Jerk."

Actually, it was still about the female assistant.

After all, the name was already decided, Seattle.

Melbourne.

Seattle.

The female assistant had occasionally mentioned her own expectations to Simon, hoping for a girl.

Saying that Westerners don't value sons over daughters is nonsense.

Western women had only recently escaped being mere appendages to men.

It was precisely because of this 'light' that the female assistant wanted a girl, as it would be less troublesome.

As for Simon himself, he actually hoped to have more children. Perhaps influenced by traditional values, since he had created such a large family business, he naturally wanted it to be well inherited. This is an instinct rooted in human genes.

Even though sometimes thoughts of 'After I'm dead, let the floodwaters come' crossed his mind, how many can truly live by that?

However, if Janet was firmly against having more children, Simon wouldn't force her.

One heir is indeed enough.

And there would be at least two.

As for having children with other women, Simon hadn't considered it. He was always very careful about contraception when occasionally sleeping with other women.

Simon knew very well that with his current status, an illegitimate child would be very troublesome.

Women like the female assistant, who purely wanted a child, were rare.

Most were gold diggers common in NBA circles, hoping to have a child and then live a carefree life, continuously demanding from the child's biological father. Some NBA players even went bankrupt due to the burden of illegitimate children.

Simon wouldn't go bankrupt now.

But if such a thing happened, it would definitely be a mess.

Janet still rested her chin on her hands, seemingly pondering for a moment, and said, "Actually, I recently consulted a doctor about something."

"What?"

"About surrogacy."

Simon immediately felt some resistance, just as he did with the idea of test-tube babies.

Test-tube babies were ultimately still carried by the mother.

Surrogacy often involved ethical issues.

Even with thorough legal preparations, Simon couldn't help but wonder, with surrogacy, who would be the child's mother?

In his memory, many rich and famous people opted for surrogacy due to old age or other reasons, but for Simon, this still had significant risks.

It ultimately came down to Simon's current status.

He wasn't just an ordinary rich person but the richest one on the Forbes list.

Who could predict that a woman wouldn't continuously pester after helping to surrogate a child, knowing his identity?

Deep down, Simon never trusted human nature.

___________________

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