Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion

Especially as the king of Hollywood, being insulted like this only doubled the injury.

Harvey's face darkened, becoming more sinister, as he glared at Bob and said, "Go tell Robert Friedman that Lionsgate Films isn't sincere in wanting to cooperate with Summit Entertainment. Link is doing this to sabotage the cooperation between our two companies. We must not be deceived. Tell Robert that if he is willing to abandon negotiations with Lionsgate, we can increase our offer by... 4%."

Robert Friedman is the founder, chairman, and major shareholder of Summit Entertainment.

"Harvey, Summit Entertainment knows this already, and regarding the increase of 4%, we don't have that money."

Bob said tactfully.

In fact, he had been against acquiring Summit Entertainment from the start.

Having been established for less than five years, Weinstein Company just passed a valuation of 300 million US Dollars, with 160 million in external debt. Now, attempting to acquire Summit Entertainment, valued at over 400 million, would undoubtedly worsen the financial condition of Weinstein Company and saddle it with a massive debt burden.

Once a financial crisis hit, or if movie box office returns were loss-making, and the cash flow severed, Weinstein Company would face the risk of bankruptcy.

Harvey was aware of this too.

But seeing Lionsgate Films growing stronger, significantly outperforming Weinstein Company in both market value and box office returns, and Link's increasing influence in Hollywood—his name wasn't even on last year's 'Hollywood Power Rankings'.

By this year, the Links, as a couple, had made it onto the list, ranking third and fourth in power.

Harvey wanted to retaliate against Link, suppress Lionsgate Films, and secure his position as 'King of Hollywood.'

This was not something Weinstein Company could accomplish alone.

So, upon hearing that negotiations had fallen through between Relativity Media and Summit Entertainment, Harvey was trying hard to persuade Weinstein Company's board to fundraise, preparing to acquire Lionsgate and accelerate Weinstein Company's development.

The major shareholders of the board showed little interest in increasing their investment in Weinstein Company, except for shareholders like Avi Nevo, who were willing to provide 120 million US Dollars in financing.

To complete the acquisition, the company would need to take on substantial loans.

Given the existing 160 million debt of Weinstein Company, this was too great a pressure and too high a risk.

It was not a good idea.

Bob had advised Harvey multiple times, but unfortunately, Harvey wouldn't listen and was stubbornly persistent.

These days, Bob was nearly driven to despair.

Suddenly, he heard that Summit Entertainment had given up on Weinstein Company and was preparing to cooperate with Lionsgate.

When he heard the news, Bob felt not even a hint of insult, but instead felt relieved and was very much looking forward to the cooperation between Lionsgate Films and Summit Entertainment, so the company wouldn't have to bear a huge debt burden.

Now, his task was to persuade Harvey to let go of the matter, focus on making movies, and not get too caught up in those hollow titles and power.

Compared to titles like 'Top Producer' and 'King of Hollywood,' he preferred to become a billionaire with a net worth of several billion, appearing on the "Forbes Billionaires List" like Link.

"We can take out loans if we don't have cash. We have the support of Warner Bros. Pictures. As long as Summit Entertainment is willing to cooperate, it's certain we can surpass Lionsgate within three years."

Harvey shouted confidently.

"Warner Bros. Pictures?"

Bob shook his head. Although Warner Bros. Pictures agreed to invest 300 million US Dollars to co-produce 5-6 films with Weinstein Company, this type of cooperation was led by Warner, and even if the films made money, it would be Warner that profited while Weinstein Company would only earn a bit from production fees.

This approach involved less risk, but the profits were also minimal, and it would be more profitable to make several more art-house films like "The King's Speech," "The Iron Lady," and "The Artist" each year.

Moreover, even with financial support from Warner Bros. Pictures, it was impossible for Weinstein Company to surpass Lionsgate within three years.

Bob felt that Harvey must have lost his reason due to anger to make such a statement.

"Harvey, the company already has 160 million in external debt. Borrowing another 200 million, the annual interest payments would be a heavy burden. If there's any box office loss or slower capital recovery, and the cash flow breaks, the company could face the danger of bankruptcy, so I hope you'll reconsider."

Bob said.

"Shut up!"

Harvey, picking up a folder, threw it at Bob, slammed the table, and shouted, "I don't want to hear this, just go contact Robert Blademan right away. I must acquire Summit Entertainment before Lionsgate does."

Bob's eye muscles twitched, he sighed, and left the meeting room with his assistant.

The others, seeing Bob leave, also exited the room with somber expressions.

Harvey stood alone in the empty meeting room, his face becoming uglier. Just three minutes earlier, he had been fantasizing about successfully acquiring Summit Entertainment. He thought about how to arrange the new company's operations, how to increase production volume, and how to surpass Lionsgate Films next year to slap Link in the face and achieve his revenge.

Everything had seemed perfect, but after the people from Summit Entertainment left, his fantasies shattered like bubbles, turning into the cold, harsh reality—the gap between Weinstein Company and Lionsgate was growing larger, and he would inevitably be trampled by Link, no matter what he did.

"Fuck! Fuck! Damn Link Baker, I will never give up, never!"

Harvey roared loudly at the empty meeting room.

——

"Summit Entertainment's offer is 430 million US Dollars? Including unreleased films such as 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' and 'The Informer'?"

At Lionsgate Films, Link was browsing through the documents and asked.

"Yes, but in terms of funding, they hope to receive no less than 20% of Lionsgate's stocks,"

CEO Steven Biggs, Chief Strategy Officer Michael Burns, and Chief Operating Officer Brian Goldsmith all stood in front of the desk awaiting his directive.

Link stroked his chin and fell silent.

Unlike Lionsgate Films, which combines movie and TV production departments, owns shares in television channels, and has strong production and distribution channels, Summit Entertainment's assets are fairly singular and mainly consist of four parts.

The first part is over 900 film library rights, valued at approximately 35 million US Dollars.

The second part includes Summit Production Studios and Summit Distribution, valued at about 60 million US Dollars.

The third part consists of a script library with 12 scripts and novel adaptation rights, valued at 15 million US Dollars, including 'Divergent,' 'Ender's Game,' and 'The Last Witch Hunter.'

The fourth and most important part includes several unreleased films, including 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1,' 'The Informer,' and others still in production, valued at approximately 300 million US Dollars, with 'Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1' alone priced at 200 million US Dollars.

Summit Entertainment's offer of 430 million includes payment in shares of Lionsgate Films and cash.

Currently, Lionsgate Films is valued at 1.6 billion US Dollars, including Netflix shares.

20% of Lionsgate's stock is valued at about 380 million, plus an additional 50 million in cash.

After considering for a moment, Link instructed Michael Burns, who was leading the negotiations, to accept Summit Entertainment's offer of 430 million, but agreed to only 10% of Lionsgate's stock, which equates to 160 million, with the remaining 270 million to be paid in cash.

If Summit Entertainment wanted more of Lionsgate's stock, they would have to buy in at a price of 2 billion, which is also his quote to Wall Street, treating Summit with no preference.

"Alright, boss, I'll go negotiate with Summit Entertainment right away,"

Michael Burns nodded.

Link then discussed the matter of loans with several executives. At present, Lionsgate Films has 320 million in debt, some of which is from unpaid debt from last year and some from this year's production costs.

With the box office and related revenues from 'The Hunger Games' and 'Buried' gradually coming in, the company currently has a balance of about 300 million US Dollars.

However, this fund had to be reserved for filmmaking next year and could not be used entirely for debt repayment.

If negotiations with Summit were successful, the two to three hundred million US Dollars needed to acquire Summit Entertainment would require a bank loan.

Given Lionsgate Films' strong current development, substantial valuable assets, and high credit standing with banks, borrowing an additional six to seven hundred million would not be an issue.

Funding was not a problem.

Then came the issue of merging the two companies after the deal, which could be discussed after successful negotiations, especially since more than one company was interested in acquiring Summit.

"Let's settle on that, and continue negotiations with Summit,"

"Yes, boss!"

The executives exited.