Chapter 307 – The Face of the American Dream
"Aaron Anderson is just some young punk."
"Why does he think he's qualified to compete with Seagram for MCA?"
Inside a luxury suite at Manhattan's Pierre Hotel, Edgar Bronfman Jr. sat on the sofa, visibly furious.
Across from him, Herbert Allen Jr. could only let out a quiet sigh.
"There's no helping it," he replied.
"Aaron Anderson has become an icon for young Americans—a symbol of the American Dream itself."
"He's also extremely close to President Bill Clinton. The White House has mentioned him publicly more than once."
"He has enormous influence among younger audiences."
But more importantly, Aaron Anderson's capabilities were simply too formidable.
In only a few short years, Dawnlight Pictures had risen into a powerhouse capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with Hollywood's six major studios.
Every year, the company delivered another blockbuster.
At this point, Dawnlight itself had become one of Hollywood's premier brands.
A company like that—why shouldn't it try to acquire MCA?
"Michael Eisner already said it himself," Herbert Allen continued.
"Because there's now competition, Matsushita has clearly raised its valuation of MCA."
"If Seagram wants to buy MCA now, the price will be far higher than expected."
"And thanks to Dawnlight bringing attention to the deal, even more competitors have started circling."
Edgar Bronfman Jr. was naturally furious.
Originally, he had intended to leverage Michael Ovitz's connections to secure MCA quickly and decisively, keeping the acquisition cost under control.
But now, Dawnlight, PolyGram, Bertelsmann, and others had all begun showing interest.
However, Hollywood's six major studios were also considered key vehicles for exporting American culture. Any acquisition on that scale would inevitably require approval from Washington.
Edgar Bronfman Jr. certainly didn't believe Aaron possessed the same political resources as the Bronfman family.
Meanwhile, after returning to the townhouse on East 72nd Street in Manhattan's Upper East Side, Aaron and Monica Bellucci headed straight into the bathroom and settled into a hot bath together.
"The director and lead actor of Il Postino, Massimo Troisi, passed away from illness back in June," Monica said softly as she leaned against Aaron inside the luxurious bathtub.
"The film had only just wrapped not long before that."
"It's a shame he never lived to see the movie released."
Aaron gently caressed Monica's curves and nodded.
"It really is unfortunate."
"Actually, Il Postino was recommended to me by Giuseppe Tornatore."
In truth, the film Aaron had paid the most attention to at this year's Venice International Film Festival was the Chinese-language Golden Lion nominee In the Heat of the Sun.
"Giuseppe Tornatore is an incredible director," Monica said with admiration.
"He already won the Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. Cinema Paradiso made him famous worldwide."
Aaron smiled, lowered his head, and kissed her before continuing.
"Tornatore is shooting a new movie next year called The Star Maker."
"New Moon Pictures will be handling the North American investment."
"I want you to play the female lead. It's an Italian comedy."
Aaron had known Tornatore for years, ever since they first collaborated on Cinema Paradiso.
Later, he had arranged for Jennifer Connelly to make a guest appearance in Tornatore's Everybody's Fine, while Tornatore himself had participated in the production of the American remake of Scent of a Woman.
Tornatore's films were always highly artistic—though he worked at a notoriously slow pace and produced very few projects.
"Really?" Monica's eyes lit up immediately.
The chance to work with Giuseppe Tornatore was something she had dreamed of.
Most of her previous Italian films had reduced her to little more than a glamorous beauty showcasing her appearance.
"Of course."
Because of Dawnlight's pursuit of MCA, Aaron spent much of his time in New York meeting with Wall Street banks and investment fund managers.
And it wasn't just American banks.
Several major European investment funds had also begun showing strong interest in Dawnlight.
---
Inside a skyscraper near Times Square housing Dawnlight Capital, Steve Case, CEO of AOL, suddenly arrived to meet Aaron.
"Steve, what brings you here?"
Aaron currently owned 4.85% of AOL.
At this point, AOL's market value had already surpassed $1 billion, meaning Aaron's original investment had multiplied several times over.
Steve Case let out a sigh.
"Paul Allen, Microsoft's co-founder, tried to acquire AOL."
"We rejected the offer."
"He currently owns 25% of AOL's shares."
"I'm hoping you can help us buy back his stake."
AOL's rapidly growing internet service business had caught Microsoft's attention.
Bill Gates had reportedly made his position crystal clear:
"Either Microsoft acquires AOL, or Microsoft crushes it."
Aaron tapped lightly on the desk.
"How much funding are you still short?"
"Paul Allen is asking for $300 million."
"We've already raised $180 million."
"So right now," Aaron said thoughtfully, "you can only repurchase 15% of his shares?"
Steve Case nodded.
"Alright."
"I'll have Dawnlight acquire the remaining 10%."
Earlier, Aaron had secured a ¥15 billion loan from Sakura Bank—roughly $170 million at current exchange rates.
Spending $120 million to acquire another 10% of AOL was entirely manageable.
"Thank you, Aaron!"
Aaron waved him off casually.
"It'll pass."
"Microsoft's attention won't stay focused on AOL for long."
Steve Case's eyes immediately brightened.
"You mean Netscape?"
Netscape's Mosaic Netscape browser had exploded in popularity.
Microsoft was certainly paying attention to the internet services market and was preparing to launch MSN to compete with AOL.
But once Netscape's browser truly took off, Microsoft would inevitably shift its priority there instead.
"Exactly."
"Microsoft's next-generation operating system is coming soon."
"They'll never allow Netscape's browser to dominate the market."
Aaron knew perfectly well that Microsoft was about to begin development on Internet Explorer.
"In any case, rejecting Paul Allen's takeover attempt was already a victory in itself."
Steve Case deeply disliked Microsoft, but there was little he could do against a corporation nearing a $40 billion valuation.
After Steve left, Aaron immediately made a phone call.
There was no reason for Dawnlight to turn down an opportunity to acquire another 10% of AOL.
Leaning back in his chair afterward, Aaron couldn't help reflecting on Microsoft's astonishing growth.
Once Windows 95 launched the following year, Microsoft's stock price would almost certainly surge again.
Over the past several years, Aaron had steadily increased Dawn Capital's holdings during Microsoft's various stock splits.
At present, Dawnlight owned roughly 0.81% of Microsoft—worth close to $300 million.
Aaron walked over to the window and gazed down at the newly renovated Times Square.
It was undeniably cleaner and far more orderly now.
Paul Allen…
If he remembered correctly, Allen was also one of the investors behind DreamWorks SKG.
Aaron wondered whether Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen—DreamWorks' iron triangle—had already begun reaching out to him yet.