"Surpassing Bill Gates, the world's new richest person is born!"
"Breaking News! Facebook successfully listed, with a market value of 153.3 billion US dollars on its first day. Eric Cooper's net worth soared, crowning him the world's richest person at 25 years old."
"A new miracle in tech stocks, Facebook's listing boosted the entire tech sector, completely clearing the gloom of the internet bubble."
"A review of Facebook's development history, from its birth to becoming the world's third largest super company!"
"Eric Cooper's genius path: How was the world's richest person created?"
"From film and television to technology, from best screenwriter to the world's richest person, this young man has brought shock to the entire world!"
"Eric Cooper's stroke of genius: Why is Facebook so valuable? How much impact has Facebook had on people's lives?"
"The crazy world's richest person, the largest acquisition in the new millennium is about to begin."
"MGM acquires Warner Bros., the wheel of history repeats, the lion will reclaim what belongs to it."
"Eric Cooper announced his intention to fully acquire Warner Bros., plunging Hollywood into turmoil and ushering in an era of industry reshuffling."
On the second day of Facebook's listing, related news had already flown out of the United States, completely dominating news headlines worldwide.
And for some time to come, it became a hot topic of conversation after meals.
Whether in Canada, Europe, South America, Australia, or Asia and the Middle East, even in underdeveloped Africa, the term "world's richest person" was highly sensitive.
People love this kind of impactful news; it's no exaggeration to say that for ordinary people globally, it garnered even more attention than the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan.
It was like a super bombshell, instantly igniting discussions among people.
Whether in private or online, many people who had never heard of Eric's name before also took notice of this young man who was changing the world.
"Eric Cooper is actually going to acquire Warner Bros. He's preparing to retaliate. I heard that Disney and Warner Bros. were the ones who spearheaded the action against MGM back then."
"It must be retaliation, but why not acquire Disney?"
"Disney is too expensive, right? They still have the strength to contend for the throne, after all."
"Come on, use your brain. It's clearly harder to acquire Disney; they could even use a poison pill plan to disrupt it."
"But Warner Bros. can't. Once Time Warner makes its final decision, it will have to sell, whether it wants to or not."
"If tens of billions in cash were placed in front of me, I would sell without hesitation. It's impossible for Warner Bros. to earn tens of billions from its copyright resources in twenty years."
"What's more, even if they sell, it's nothing. Time Warner still owns HBO, Time Magazine, CNN, and a host of other quality resources."
"If I were the decision-maker, I would buy another medium-sized film and television company."
"Although resources like copyrights, equipment, and distribution networks are gone, intangible resources like connections can't be lost."
"Even if they can't create a new Warner Bros., it shouldn't be difficult to rebuild a New Line Cinema or Lionsgate in ten years. But can they earn tens of billions of US dollars in ten years? Don't be ridiculous!"
"Wow! It seems that classic movies like tom and jerry, Gone with the Wind, and Ben-Hur will return to MGM's hands."
"I don't care about anything else, but tom and jerry, please release a new version. Warner Bros.'s version is truly unwatchable. I still miss the hand-drawn feel."
"Exactly! Warner Bros.'s tom and jerry is simply ruining a classic. The Flash animation style makes me feel like I'm eating dirt, ugh!"
"That's because it's cheaper to make animations that way. Hand-drawing is too difficult, and the efficiency is too low. The development of the times will inevitably abandon that model. Businessmen pursue profit."
"But Hayao Miyazaki has always insisted on hand-drawing, which is why he became a world-renowned animation master."
"Right! But precisely because of that, there is only one Hayao Miyazaki in the world, because it's too difficult. And look at Hayao Miyazaki's production speed; he can't adapt to the increasingly fast pace of the times."
"Just announced, Eric Cooper has arrived at Time Warner's headquarters."
It had been almost half a month since Eric announced his intention to acquire Warner Bros.
During this period, Time Warner had made a statement, neither good nor bad, with an ambiguous attitude.
However, Richard Parsons, the current president of Time Warner, had invited him a few days ago, hoping to discuss the matter in detail.
The purpose was self-evident; he certainly wanted to sound him out, as he had only expressed an intention to acquire, not how much he was willing to pay.
"This way, please, Mr. Cooper."
Leading Eric and his entourage to the 17th floor, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they saw Richard Parsons and his people waiting in the hallway to greet them.
"Eric, long time no see."
"Yes, the last time we met was at the charity gala in Salt Lake City, wasn't it?"
"Young people have such good memories. How is your father?"
"He's doing well. He doesn't have much work now and travels with my mother every day."
"An ideal life. This will be my goal too in the future."
"You're still far from that, Richard. I think you'll have to work hard for at least another thirty years."
"Hahahahaha. Please come in."
Inside the conference room, both sides were seated, their jovial attitudes gone.
Relationships are relationships, business is business. Everyone was now in somewhat opposing positions.
"Eric, regarding the acquisition of Warner Bros. Entertainment, we'd like to hear your stance."
Getting straight to the point, Eric liked this style.
He scanned the Time Warner executives present, and without any unnecessary words, he raised four fingers: "40 billion US dollars. That's my offer."
"This price already far exceeds Warner Bros.'s value. As insiders, you must know that better than I do."
"What I want to say is that I am very sincere in making this deal happen. What is your attitude?"
Hearing the figure of 40 billion US dollars, everyone present's pupils constricted.
From an individual's perspective, apart from Eric, they would never come close to such a sum in their lives.
It wasn't an astronomical figure, but a cosmic one.
But Richard Parsons shook his head slightly: "NO! Your offer hasn't met my expectations."
"Eric, are you following Warner Bros.'s stock price? It's already approaching 30 billion US dollars."
"A difference of 10 billion US dollars, with a premium of only 33%. That's not how business is done."
"It's 30.5 billion US dollars now, the market value after the market opened this morning," a middle-aged woman in a blue suit added from the side.
"30.5 billion US dollars, what does that mean? It means the stock price is still rising. Perhaps in half a month, it could reach 35 billion US dollars. You need to bid more cautiously, Mr. Cooper."
Hearing this, Judy let out a somewhat mocking laugh.
"Madam, I apologize, I don't know your name."
"Dana."
"OK, Ms. Dana, your statement is very unscientific and very unrealistic."
"We both know why Warner Bros.'s stock price started to surge. It's because Eric expressed an acquisition intention."
"But this only represents market rules, not the true value of Warner Bros."
"It's like a pig standing in the eye of a storm, able to fly without effort."
"If we give up the acquisition, everyone knows that in just half an hour, the stock price will return to its original position."
"We have already shown great sincerity. If you want to make this deal, you also need to show equivalent sincerity."
Richard Parsons looked at Judy, thinking that for someone so young, she was sharp-tongued and bold.
"Judy?"
"Yes, Judy!"
"Judy Newhouse, my partner, and also the future manager of Warner Bros.," Eric added.
"The manager of Warner Bros. Your words sound as if Warner Bros. has already changed hands."
"No, I just believe you will make the right choice, Richard."
"I don't need to tell you how much debt Time Warner Group is still carrying."
"Actually, from another perspective, Facebook's listing has revitalized the entire tech sector, and countless companies have benefited."
"Even America Online is the same, so you should be grateful to me."
"Taking this money is good for both of us. To be honest, when it comes to making movies, I understand it better than you."
This was true. Based on Eric's achievement of leading MGM out of the quagmire and back to its peak, everyone had to admit it.
"Eric, we cannot accept the 40 billion US dollar price. If you want to take Warner Bros., you must at least pay 51 billion US dollars."
"And it must be cash. This is the result of our internal discussions, and it is our bottom line."
Hearing this, Eric sighed: "It seems Time Warner is not being sincere. You're treating me like a fool."
"I do have money, but I don't like to waste it. It seems we'll have to stop here today."
After speaking, he stood up, preparing to leave.
Seeing this, Richard Parsons was a bit speechless, thinking that it's all about asking for the sky and settling for the earth; isn't that how business negotiations always go?
What's with him just walking out when things don't go his way?
However, he wouldn't try to keep him, after all, Eric was the one actively seeking to acquire, not him asking for a favor.
And seeing the other party's indifferent attitude, Eric understood that he had to use the stick; the carrot alone wouldn't work.
"Judy, arrange to withdraw the acquisition of Warner Bros., and also reschedule MGM's movie release dates for this year."
Before Judy could respond, Richard Parsons indeed spoke up to try and keep him.
"Wait, rescheduling again? It's been a year, haven't we played enough games? Malicious competition is not good for anyone. We've all lost 1 billion US dollars."
Eric smiled: "It's not entirely the same as last year, because this time I will launch a precise strike against Warner Bros."
"1 billion US dollars was last year's figure. Unless your movies aren't going to the big screen anymore, the losses will certainly be greater."
"With more cards in my hand, I will deal with Warner Bros. this year exactly how you dealt with me last year."
"Also, these were originally prepared for Disney, but it seems you will enjoy them first."
"Are you threatening me, Cooper!" Richard Parsons showed anger.
Eric shook his head: "I just hope both sides show equivalent sincerity."
The two looked at each other like that, while the others in the conference room stared blankly at them.
A moment later, Richard Parsons tapped the table, his voice softening: "Sit."
The other party backed down, and Eric returned to the negotiating table.
He also didn't want to completely disrespect them: "Richard, actually, 51 billion US dollars is not absolutely unacceptable."
"As long as Time Warner is willing to cooperate, I can pay that amount."
Richard Parsons looked at Eric with a hint of disbelief: "What do you want to do? How do you need us to cooperate?"
"The first is to speed things up. I hope to complete the entire acquisition process as quickly as possible."
"Of course, I guarantee to pay the money immediately, a one-time cash payment."
"But within Warner Bros., I hear many people are resisting this acquisition. I hope you can manage your people and prevent them from obstructing it."
Everyone knew who Eric was referring to.
During this time, the group represented by Barry Meyer had repeatedly expressed their opinions to Time Warner's headquarters, strongly opposing the deal.
"Don't worry, we represent the board's opinion, and no one can stop it!"
"That's best. The second is that I hope to buy the shares of New Line Cinema as well. Time Warner still holds 28% of New Line Cinema's shares, right?"
The dagger was revealed. Richard Parsons understood Eric's plan.
He wanted to buy New Line Cinema's shares as an add-on, essentially buying a large item and getting a small one for free.
If he were to publicly acquire it, New Line Cinema's stock price would also rise, and it wouldn't be the same price then.
"Eric, this is not part of our deal, and New Line Cinema is very valuable now, don't you know?"
"the lord of the rings trilogy was too successful; it is undoubtedly the world's number one epic fantasy film."
"I know, but then what? Besides the lord of the rings and a few horror film IPs, does New Line Cinema have anything else valuable?"
"Richard, let's be frank. Although you hold the largest shares in New Line Cinema, you don't control its operations."
"If you get lucky and produce a the lord of the rings, you make money with it, but what if you're unlucky?"
"Since Warner Bros. has decided to sell to me, why not package and sell off the entire film and television production segment?"
"Otherwise, what's the point of keeping New Line Cinema's equity? You can't participate in production management?"
"Are you going to find a new home for Barry Meyer? Although Bob Meyer also has the surname Meyer, I'm afraid he won't accept it."
Richard Parsons looked at Eric with a smile: "But if you include New Line Cinema, your price won't be enough, young man."
Actually, Time Warner had, of course, discussed New Line Cinema's business.
As Eric said, without Warner Bros., New Line Cinema's value would be greatly discounted.
Although the two were independent, they were actually closely linked.
"I'm not finished yet," Eric interrupted the other party.
"I want New Line Cinema's shares, but the DC Comics business, I'll leave it to you, to avoid problems during antitrust investigations."
"I only want the copyrights for existing DC characters, excluding comic book publishing, including film, animation, TV series, merchandise, etc."
"Even if DC creates new characters in the future, they will still belong to you."
"Calculating it this way, with one addition and one subtraction, exchanging it for 51 billion US dollars, neither party loses out on this deal."