Chapter 1104： Lion's big opening

On the other side of the phone, Paul Roland spoke quickly about something, and Eric's eyebrows gradually wrinkled.

When Paul Roland finished, Eric turned and asked Caroline standing not far away: "Carly, Estonia seems to be next to Finland?"

“Well,” Caroline nodded. “Helsinki and Tallinn, the capital of Estonia, are across the sea, less than a hundred kilometers away.”

"Help me pick up the phone of Ollie Carras Suo," Eric told me, turning his attention to the phone again, to Paul Rowland: "You are not too late to fly to Europe, I will arrange there. In the past, you can stay in New York to coordinate and you can do it."

At the end of last year, Jorma Olia officially left from Nokia.

Under the recommendation of Jorma Ollila, Nokia’s former chief financial officer, Olli Carras Suo, succeeded him as the new chairman and CEO of Nokia.

Caroline didn't understand why Eric suddenly contacted Orly Karassuo, but immediately picked up the cordless phone from the secretary's office and skillfully dialed a number. After a few moments, the phone was connected, and Caroline and the opposite said a few words, and came over to hand the cordless phone to Eric.

Edgar Bronfman didn't expect Eric to spend half an hour just picking up a phone call. As time went by, he even began to wonder if the other person was deliberately hanging himself.

The dissatisfaction of the heart gradually accumulates. Just as Edgar Bronfman hesitated to get up and leave, Eric finally pushed the office door and walked in.

"Sorry, Ed," Eric still holding a cell phone in his hand, came over and sat down on the sofa, put the phone on the coffee table in front of him, and said: "There was a very troublesome thing for you. Awaited."

Edgar Bronfman tried to keep himself smiling and curious.

Eric did not explain the meaning of the other party, saying: "So, let's continue the topic. Ed, frankly, it is definitely not a good idea for Seagram to want to buy firefly electronics. You know, Firefly Electronics There is no shortage of money, so for a long time in the future, this company will not only go public, or even have a dividend plan. Moreover, the current valuation of firefly electronics in the industry is around 30 billion US dollars, I think Seagram is sure It is also impossible to accept a shareholding in this valuation."

"Well, Eric," Edgar Bronfman once again suppressed his dissatisfaction and said: "Then, Fireflies want to make Universal Music a digital music store, it should show some sincerity, but now So far, I don’t see your sincerity at all."

"Ed, you should understand that as long as Universal Music joins the Yahoo Music Store, whether it is Yahoo! Firefly Electronics or even the Firefly Group, it will try to tilt more resources to the music content of Universal Music. This advantage It's not comparable to other record companies. Of course, we also have our own record business, but everyone knows that the size of the firefly record is small and will not have much impact on the overall situation," Eric said here, paused. Next, I continued: "However, of course, I will definitely show my sincerity. The ratio of Yahoo Music Store to record companies is three or seven. This cannot be changed. However, as long as Universal Music agrees to cooperate, the next few years Firefly Electronics can return a certain percentage of sales to Universal Music through marketing subsidies."

In fact, as long as Universal Music can agree to open content licenses, Eric will even be willing to return all music sales CDs to Universal Music in the next few years, even if it's extra.

Compared to the huge profits of hardware sales, the revenue share of digital music stores can be completely abandoned for the firefly system.

Of course, the Yahoo Music Store is part of Yahoo!’s business. Since Yahoo is already on the market, Eric can only subsidize record companies through Firefly Electronics for financial reports and stock prices.

Edgar Bronfman was silent for a moment, and from Eric's tone, he was basically able to hear how much the so-called subsidy could be.

Just, think about the analysis of fireflies electronic revenue data by various commercial media in recent years. Edgar Bronfman is still not willing.

Among the top five record companies, Universal has the largest scale, but the annual revenue is only about 5 billion US dollars, and the annual profit generated is about 500 million US dollars.

However, according to the general analysis of the media, Firefly Electronics has just been released for two years, and the annual profit is twice as large as that of Universal Music. How can this not make the entire record industry feel embarrassed? Even many people feel that the money earned by Firefly Electronics is exactly the profit lost in the overall decline of the record industry in the past two years.

If possible, Edgar Bronfman doesn't really want to work with Eric Williams at all.

However, the current situation of the Seagram Group is not good.

In recent years, as the Seagram Group has completely turned to the media industry, it has made a number of acquisitions including MCA, PolyGram, and cable TV. At this time, the total debt of the company has reached 12 billion US dollars. . Moreover, since Edgar Bronfman leans most of his resources on the record business and wants to build the world's largest record group, although his purpose has been achieved, with the sudden decline of the record industry, Seagram The group's operations are also in trouble.

Last year, Universal Studios, managed by Michael Eisner, achieved good profits, but because of the loss of the record business, the total annual loss of the Seagram Group in 1998 still exceeded $1.3 billion.

Due to the unsatisfactory merger between PolyGram and Universal Music, the Seagram Group may continue to lose money if the overall situation of the record industry does not reverse. The Bronfman family, which controls the Seagram Group, blamed Edgar Bronfman for the responsibility, and even had the idea of ​​selling the company.

Edgar Bronfman certainly didn't want to do this. Although he had a little bit of self-use in his character, he couldn't be considered as learning.

After detailed discussions with Universal Music CEO Doug Morrison, the two agreed that this cooperation with the Firefly System is necessary and may even be the key to reversing the current situation of the Seagram Group.

"Eric, this is not enough," thought for a moment, Edgar Bronfman shook his head: "The Yahoo Music Store wants the content of Universal Music, Firefly must also pay more."

Eric’s left hand subconsciously pressed the bandage on his right arm. He recently added this habit without knowing it, but his expression was quiet. “So, what does Sigram want?”

“A zero-coupon loan,” biting his teeth, Edgar Bronfman remembered the rich cash reserves of the firefly system disclosed by the media, temporarily changing the original number, and the Lions spoke: “$3 billion.”

Due to uncontrolled expansion and huge losses, the current capital chain of the Seagram Group has reached a very dangerous level. Others don’t say that it’s just $12 billion in debt, and the amount of debt that needs to be paid each year is $600 million.

Although the overall economic situation in North America is booming, it is difficult for the Seagram Group to obtain financing from outside.

"It's impossible for $3 billion," Eric Moss glared at the bandage under the shirt and shook his head. "I will give you up to $500 million, and it must be repaid within three years."

I don't know if Edgar Bronfman heard the ease of Eric's tone, but his attitude suddenly became firm.

Eric naturally can't easily loosen it.

The firefly system does not lack money, but $3 billion is definitely a huge sum.

Since Ken will give up all of the digital music sales share in the short term, Eric will naturally not care too much about the interest generated by the $3 billion. But with such a huge sum of money, he is more worried that once the Seagram Group is in trouble, the other party is likely to be unable to pay.

Exaggeratedly, if the Seagram Group goes bankrupt, Eric has little interest in the assets of its record business. As for Universal Pictures, $3 billion can't be eaten, and other creditors can't easily give the best quality assets of Universal Pictures to fireflies.

The two sides disputed for more than an hour in various details. After this meeting, they still failed to achieve any results.

However, although there was no agreement on the loan, Edgar Bronfman agreed to leave, Universal Music can begin preliminary contact negotiations with Yahoo and Firefly Electronics.

Sending Edgar Bronfman, the time is approaching noon, seeing that there is no call in Europe, Eric is about to dial the voice, the ringing of the phone ringing again.

......

The nine-day Paris Fashion Week is coming to an end.

Due to the arrangement of a guy, Carmen Kass is shining in this year's fashion week.

However, I don’t know if it’s a very sad thing. She was preparing for the last two days of the next two catwalks, and she suddenly received a call from her sister’s hometown.

The mother was kidnapped.

Upon hearing this news, Carmen Kess was suddenly blind.

Kidnapping.

How can this kind of thing be associated with yourself?

Because of poverty, Eastern Europe is actually very chaotic, which she knows.

In the past few years of turmoil, she has heard of many things, all kinds of kidnappings, blackmails, and even assassinations. Estonian gangs ran to Finland to grab the land but were hit back by Russian gangs. However, she always felt that the civilians themselves were far away in these things.

Then suddenly I met.

Then I feel that the sky is going to fall down.

The mother divorced her father from a very young time, and one person worked very hard to pull the three of their brothers and sisters. She still remembers that when she was a child, her mother worked until late at night, and she was so tired that she would secretly hold her own. At that time, the mother thought she was asleep, but she was actually awake, a small child, a small mind. I don't know what to say, so I continue to sleep.

The ransom for the kidnappers is 10 million Estonian krona, which is actually not much, about $600,000. However, although a huge endorsement contract has been signed with Wei Mi, it is naturally impossible to pay immediately. She has just been defrauded of all savings, and now there is no money at all.

Somehow, the first thought came to the man who was bitten by himself.

Then she woke up and hurriedly called Paul Roland. Paul Roland quickly wrote back and asked her to provide her brother's sister's contact information, and then let her wait patiently and not do stupid things.

How could she wait, just want to go back as soon as possible, save her mother, and then frantically borrow money from people who are familiar with the unfamiliar around.

However, although many models of WM's revenues are good, but everyone can't have too much cash, she dare not explain why she wants to borrow money, so the dollar francs and pounds rushed together, eventually only raised more than 20 Wan, if he couldn’t take too much, he hurriedly boarded the plane to Tallinn.

In any case, you should go back as soon as possible.

However, when I left Paris, I arrived at Tallinn Airport. Because she was too hasty, she forgot to report the cash, and she was deducted.

Although the EU has been established at this time, Estonia has not yet joined, and the security of entry and exit is still very strict. In order to prevent tax evasion and money laundering, huge cash transits need to be strictly declared.

After this period of exposure, she is now a famous Estonian celebrity, or that is the most famous person in this small country with a population of just over one million. Therefore, the customs staff did not have too much trouble for her, just hope she could explain the ins and outs of the cash.

How dare she explain!

Although she has not encountered a kidnapping case, she also knows that this kind of thing must not be too big, otherwise...

When the customs officers saw her appearance as a god, she naturally had a little more suspicion, so she even dared not let her go. She could only report to the higher-level responsible person and wait for the people above to come and deal with it.

So, she was trapped in the airport detention room like a stubborn and awkward little beast.

I am looking forward to it.

If this time, someone can come and help yourself.

Then, I would rather let him bite back.

In the end, I only thought of the man.

She never admits that she is a girl with a lack of security in her bones, but at this moment, she realized that the man had unwittingly given her a sense of security that she had never had before.

After the head of the customs arrived, she still couldn’t reveal anything, just hoped to make a call.

After getting permission, the phone dials to New York.

Paul Roland, who hadn't been able to contact her for several hours, heard that she was trapped at Tallinn Airport. Even if she was patient, she couldn't help but count her a few words, then hurriedly hung up the phone, and she felt that she would continue. Staying in the airport detention room is more insurance.

It was only after half an hour that a group of people came to pick her up.

In addition to her brother and sister, she also saw the mother's figure, a heart suddenly put down.

Then there was the stranger, one of whom took the initiative to introduce it, which was originally a manager of the Nokia Group's public relations department.

Nokia.

She naturally knows.

Not only because it is the largest big company in Finland across the sea, but it is also his industry.

Suddenly, my heart feels very bad.

There seems to be a seemingly terrible thought in my heart.