Chapter 142 From Chess Piece to Chess Player

"Shabotei, do I really give people the impression that I am short of money? Why do they think I would sell the 41% stake in Turner Broadcasting and give up a radio and television network that ranks among the top five in the United States?"

"It seems that I not only gave them the impression that I was short of money, but also that I was mentally ill..."

Hearing the boss's self-deprecating complaints, Shabote's forehead was covered with black lines and he shook his head repeatedly in embarrassment.

Seeing the sneer on his boss's lips, he naturally realized that his boss was disgusted with the phone call just now from Time Warner Chairman Richard.

Shabote smiled bitterly and said:

"Boss, they know that there is little hope for us to give up. But these giant companies in various industries always think, how can we know if it is possible if we don't try?"

Just like the United States, it always does similar things internationally.

Even though we know it is impossible, we still do it again and again.

You're just betting on that one in ten thousand chance, which could result in a ten thousand percent return.

Today, Milo owns 41% of Turner Broadcasting Corporation.

The remaining 59% is held by Hearst Media, Cox Corporation, Time Warner and other shareholders.

The shares of these people are very dispersed, with the largest being 25% held by Times China.

It can be said that unless these people unite, Milo will now have the final say over Turner Broadcasting and Television Group.

However, before Milo could go to Atlanta to hold a shareholders' meeting and officially take over Turner Broadcasting and Television Group.

Time Warner came knocking, and their chairman Richard proposed to buy Milo's 41% stake.

This is actually normal, because what if Milo agrees?

Then Time Warner would suddenly become the absolute controlling shareholder of Turner Broadcasting Group, just like in a parallel universe.

They were sincere and offered $4 billion for Milo's shares, a premium of nearly 33%.

It is much more than the 20% premium in a normal acquisition.

Unfortunately, Milo did not purchase these shares with the intention of waiting for a good price or speculating.

His idea is the same as Time Warner's, which is to control and own a television network of their own.

What's more, there is no way Time Warner would give him so much cash.

The most likely scenario is a stock swap or specially issued stock, plus a small amount of cash, which is a conventional model.

If it was all in cash, he might consider it.

After all, 3.1 billion US dollars turned into 4 billion US dollars in less than half a month.

Considering the US dollars, it is not unacceptable.

Unfortunately, Time Warner doesn't have that much cash.

So they are bound to be disappointed.

"I don't want to deal with these idiots anymore."

Milo spoke unhappily and gave Shabote a new task, "Go call Ted Turner. Shabote, take some people to Atlanta to help me. You go as my representative and get the position of chairman of the board as soon as possible."

Shabote nodded and said he was ready and could go to Atlanta today.

At the same time, we can call other shareholders now and convene a shareholders' meeting in Georgia tomorrow.

"By the way, you should also send a note to Time Warner later."

Milo said, "Let's say I also want their 25% stake. I can also give them a 33% premium."

After thinking for a while, Milo added some weight to his scale, "I will give them cash and tell them that if they are willing. Then Paladin Films can cooperate with them on two movies next, both using my scripts, and I will be the producer."

Shabote nodded in agreement.

The chief consultant of the advisory group knew that this would definitely be attractive to Time Warner.

Because Milo's second film, "Shakespeare in Love", was taken off the screens in North America yesterday.

The North American box office is out, nearly 300 million US dollars!

Including box office revenue from other parts of the world, the total global box office is currently $585 million.

And now, the film is still being shown in Southeast Asia, Japan and Northern Europe.

With the global box office exceeding $600 million, there shouldn't be any problems.

The investment in this movie is similar to that of Milo's first movie "Angels and Demons".

Both are more than 40 million US dollars.

Including publicity and promotion, the total will not exceed 70 million US dollars.

70 million US dollars, in exchange for 600 million global box office...

Just in terms of box office revenue, Milo and Murdoch will get about 40% of the $600 million.

About 240 million US dollars, minus the cost of 70 million, the profit is about 170 million US dollars.

What's more, this does not include various derivative income, such as videotapes and DVDs.

If these are taken into account, the profits will be distributed according to their respective investment proportions and shareholding ratios.

Over the next decade, plus box office revenue.

20th Century Fox, which is working with Minogue, is expected to share a total profit of approximately $150 million to $280 million.

The success of a film or a novel.

That could be luck.

But the two films, and the two novels with completely different styles, were successful at the same time.

In the eyes of the American media, which believes in data in everything, this is no longer lucky.

This is strength.

Two films with the Blackburn label, plus a 33% premium.

Moreover, since Milo already holds a 41% stake, it is impossible for Time Warner to take over Turner Broadcasting Group.

Milo was also willing to give cash.

Chabotte felt that as long as Richard and his board of directors still had some sense.

Then they should nod and agree!

Wait for Shabote to leave.

In the office of a senior executive at Yahoo headquarters.

Milo stared at the computer screen, carefully checking the email he had just received.

These are the resumes of some outstanding talents sent to him by the headhunting company, and Milo will conduct a preliminary screening first.

This time, Milo wanted to find a private financial manager with experience in business management.

After a period of time, Milo found that Shabote was very useful, but he was still more inclined towards finance and acquisitions.

The other members of the advisory group also have their own responsibilities, most of which are biased towards a specific industry.

For example, Chris's media and newspaper circles, Ms. Hughes' personal image and emergency public relations.

Milo is now looking for a private financial manager who is good at asset and company management.

To help me lead the advisory team to supervise and manage the daily management and operations of the companies under my name.

Although he has clear investment directions and spending projects.

However, professionals are also needed to carry out system planning and management.

After all, Milo only relies on foresight, and he is really not good at complex and chaotic business management.

Shabote is better at acquisitions and financial negotiations, while Wendy is responsible for miscellaneous tasks.

Find such an assistant, and then have the think tank to supervise and manage.

He just needs his think tank to report to him at all times, make reasonable and scientific analysis, and then make decisions.

The position of chief management manager is a very important position in Milo's eyes.

As his assets increase and the company continues to grow, the person sitting in this position will have more and more power, so he cannot be careless.

The information sent by the headhunting company was not much.

There were only five people's resumes, and the one that surprised Milo the most was one from a young Italian woman.

Gina Raymondo...Milo whispered the name of this Italian woman.

He is 25 years old, from Rhode Island, and was born in New England.

He graduated three years ago with a degree in economics from Harvard University, and later received a master's and doctoral degree from Oxford University in the UK.

I returned to the United States to work last year and am currently pursuing a law degree at Yale University.

Milo discovered that these were the headhunting companies he was working with.

They particularly like to recommend elites from Harvard University and New England.

It makes me feel like I have some prejudice!

Milo despised.

But then again, he was more likely to trust someone who was born in New England and graduated from Harvard University...

For example, Shabote also graduated from Harvard Business School.

Well, I just have a prejudice.

Who says this is America?

And this Gina Raymondo, Milo was attracted by her resume at first sight.

It's not because the photo in her email resume makes her look young and beautiful.

It is not because of her excellent professional background and strong personal attributes.

It's because of her name and appearance. Isn't this the 40th US Secretary of Commerce who later "endorsed" chrysanthemums? Yes, the US Secretary of Commerce who endorsed beautiful legs...

Milo only remembered her more than 20 years later. She was very old and shriveled. She didn't look ugly but definitely not good-looking.

But this photo... could it have been photoshopped? Are there photo software now? The photo in her email resume is definitely pretty.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

After looking at it for a long time, I actually feel a little bit like Audrey Hepburn.

Milo scratched his head after seeing this, and out of curiosity, he decided to meet Gina Raymondo, who was introduced by the headhunting company.

As for the other four, he also picked out the two with the best resumes and the ones who most suited his taste.

Then notify the headhunting company and ask these three people to come and see him.

Whether it's Gina Raymondo or the other two, they all need to be interviewed first.

After finishing all this, it was time for Milo to get off work as he had set for himself.

It's already three o'clock in the afternoon.

Today is the last day of April and Milo has a party in the evening.

It was Lycos's IPO thank-you reception, off topic -

Bob Davis, the operator of Lycos, is also a student at Harvard University.

The strength of the American alumni circle is beyond the expectations of many Chinese people.

The simplest example is that the United States has had more than forty presidents.

Nearly three-fifths of them studied at Harvard and Yale, and many even have degrees from both universities.

The same is true for most vice presidents and various members of Congress.

Even Milo's uncle went to Harvard University to get a degree before entering politics.

If an American has WASP ancestry, is born in the Upper Three Banners, and has degrees from Harvard and Yale.

Then his chances of winning the US election would be more than three quarters.

Of course, that refers to now and in the past.

Wait until Blackie opens Pandora's box and releases the LGBT+ monsters.

The gameplay has been updated and America is starting to look very different.

But that's for the future.

In the evening, Milo's motorcade stopped in front of the InterContinental Hotel in San Francisco.

The convoy was quite large, and the five black Cadillac Escalade SUVs, flashing black lights in the dark night, were particularly eye-catching.

Milo, looking very handsome in a bow tie and suit, got out of the car and walked straight into the familiar InterContinental Hotel.

He had stayed in this hotel for too long, and even had a week-long baby-making campaign with Sophie Marceau here a week ago.

Later, I felt it was inconvenient, so I started moving to the villas I had just bought in the Bay Area.

Before that, he almost always stayed in this hotel when he was in San Francisco.

I am so familiar with it that I can almost know the direction with my eyes closed.

"Mr. Blackburn, you are here to attend the Lycos company dinner, right? Is there anything I can do for you?"

The lobby manager was still Terry Mabus. He bypassed the receptionist arranged by Lycos and came to greet us immediately with a smile and great respect.

It can be said that Terry Mabus was one of the witnesses who saw how Milo went from being an ordinary rich boy to becoming the great man he is today.

So even if there is nothing to ask, I will go up and ask a question to leave a good impression.

"Yes, I am here for the party. Nice to meet you, Terry, you look well." Milo greeted him with a smile as he walked towards the elevator.

“That’s because it provides the best service to our guests.”

Mabuse answered appropriately, and seeing that Milo seemed to have no other requests, he stopped and watched Milo stride toward the elevator.

Milo went straight to the Blue Hall on the fifth floor. The cocktail party had just begun and all the guests were here.

"Hey, Milo, you're finally here." A voice rang out as he entered the hall.

After his wife gave birth to the child, Hector Cabrera, who had started to grow a beard, came over excitedly.

"You always find me first in the crowd, and you say you don't admire me." Milo smiled and patted his childhood playmate on the shoulder.

"Fuck! I already have a child! And you, if you want to have your own child, it will take several years." Hector immediately turned hostile. This was how the two of them had always talked.

"Haha, no need for later. Your child will still have to call me dad. Have you forgotten our previous agreement?"

Hector was stunned. He recalled that when they were little, they once went to church together.

At that time, they watched the adults bless the baptized children and watched the adults become the godfathers of the baptized children.

At that time, they said that they would become godfathers of each other's children in the future.

Hector thought Milo had forgotten, because now Milo was obviously surpassing his childhood playmates.

The best of them was once Paladin, Milo's brother.

After Paladin's death, the second best would have been Craig of Bayard.

But right now, the standout is undoubtedly Milo.

When everyone still has to rely on Boston and their elders to get ahead.

Milo, a Boston native, has been able to have so much fun in New York and California.

They even grew their own crops in these two places.

The four most important points in the United States are New York, California, New England, and Texas.

Milo has already made a name for himself in two of them.

Compared to them.

Milo has transcended their category and has become a powerful figure in the United States at a young age.

Hector didn't expect that he still remembered all this.

So one of Cabrera's heirs, the head of the venture capital department of Boston First National Bank in San Francisco, couldn't help but pat Milo on the back.

"Of course I can't forget it, of course I can't forget it."

"When you are baptized, remember to call me over."

"good!"

Hector said happily, and as he spoke, he pulled Milo to the group of people he had been chatting with before. They were all people Milo was very familiar with.

Cousin Edward, Asumur from Morgan Stanley, Gorman from Sequoia Capital, plus Milo and Hector.

Yahoo shareholders, rejoice.

But tonight is Lycos' IPO thank-you reception, which has nothing to do with Yahoo.

It was just a coincidence that we all came together because of Yahoo.

After a period of time, it has become the largest faction among the vested interests in Silicon Valley.

Milo walked forward with a smile, shook hands with everyone, and even smiled and hugged Asumur.

Although there were some unpleasant things in the past.

It can be said that there is no acquaintance without fighting.

We are all in this together now.

Let's push Lycos to go public together, harvest the leeks of the hot American Internet together, and enjoy the upcoming Nasdaq wealth explosion together! If we say that Netscape's successful listing last year made people see the arrival of the Internet tide.

This year, Lycos went public with the support of many giants.

This probably means that the door to the Internet wealth frenzy has officially opened.

And Milo, he finally got the small role that snatched food from the sidelines.

He has evolved all the way and now he has become one of the chess players who holds the key and opens this door together with other giants.

In the big chess game of the United States, he has transformed from a chess piece to a chess player.

(End of this chapter)