Chapter 565： The opponent appears

Lionsgate, Navas hurriedly walked into the office of owner Frank Gusta.

"What's the matter?" Frank Gusta asked, seeing Navas's face full of anxiety, "Is this anxious?"

Navas didn’t want to sit down and said quickly: “Chairman, I just got the news that people from Relativity Entertainment are in contact with Artisan Films. Robert Iger’s men have already interviewed several shareholders of Artisan Films. Someone saw with their own eyes that Robert Iger himself went to Artisan Pictures yesterday."

Frank Gusta was quite surprised: "What? Relativity Entertainment?" He calmly asked, "Are you sure Relativity Entertainment is interested in Artisan Films."

Navas said without hesitation: "I found someone to check it. Robert Iger and Emile Marin talked about it, but I don’t know what Robert Iger’s subordinates met with several shareholders of Artisan Pictures. It’s an equity transaction."

Frank Gusta has calmed down: "Relativity Entertainment wants to acquire Artisan Pictures."

"Yes." Navas answered: "It's completely certain now."

He then asked: "Chairman, what should we do? We have been preparing for almost half a year, so we can't let Relativity Entertainment take the lead?"

Frank Gusta raised his hand to quiet Navas temporarily.

Since August last year, Lionsgate has received news that Artisan Pictures has an intention to sell the company. After several discussions, Frank Gusta decided to make the acquisition of Artisan Pictures an important future. One of the plans is to hire a third-party agency to start an evaluation of Artisan Pictures.

Acquiring a company with assets of hundreds of millions of dollars is not a simple matter. It is not a matter of making a decision this month and completing the transaction next month.

Lionsgate’s preparations have been going on in secret. Frank Gusta raised a certain amount of funds for this acquisition in several Canadian banks.

According to Lionsgate’s plan, it will soon formally contact Artisan Pictures and strive to complete the acquisition in the first half of 2004.

Who would have thought that a relativity entertainment suddenly appeared!

Frank Gusta thinks about it carefully. Relativity Entertainment is not a sudden jump out. It was the first to cooperate with Lionsgate. Lionsgate released the "Human Elimination Project" of Shahai Entertainment, a subsidiary of Relativity Entertainment. Later, the two companies There is also cooperation, but it is more of competition. On several occasions, Lionsgate seems to have won the Relativity Entertainment, but the result was a big loss.

Just say that "City of God", with a good reputation and scaring people, ranks in various annual top ten lists. For Lionsgate, which bought out North American copyright, it is a standard money-losing product.

The cost of buying out the copyright is not known for how many years it will take to operate offline to recover.

It seems that in the competition with Relativity Entertainment, Lionsgate has never been cheap. Sometimes it seems to have won, but the result is the same as "City of God", and finally lost.

Frank Gusta suddenly asked Navas: "Which is the stronger Lionsgate or Relativity Entertainment?"

Navas hesitated, but chose to tell the truth: "Relativistic entertainment is stronger."

"Therefore, Artisan Pictures is more important to Lionsgate." Frank Gusta emphasized: "Lionsgate wants to be bigger and needs more complete distribution channels, especially overseas distribution channels. The same is true. , We also need the film library of Artisan Pictures, which is the confidence of a film company and the basis for continuous stable income generation."

His tone became extremely tough: "Whether it is facing the competition of Relativity Entertainment or the bidding of the six major companies, we cannot give up Artisan Films."

Navas said: "Chairman, I have dealt with Ronan Anderson many times. This is not a person who will give up easily. We must be fully prepared, especially funds."

Frank Gusta nodded and said, "I will find a solution for the funds."

The Lionsgate film industry has developed in the past two years, but it has not been particularly smooth. Funds have been relatively tight. Frank Gusta has already raised funds in the secondary market for this purpose, but most of the funds raised have been invested in movies. On the project, the company's internal funds are not sufficient.

Fortunately, since preparing to acquire Artisan Films, Frank Gusta has been trying to raise funds. In nearly six months, he has also prepared a sum of nearly 300 million US dollars.

Originally, by raising a portion, the plan to acquire artisan films would almost be completed.

But the emergence of Relativity Entertainment, I am afraid that more funds will be raised.

Navas warned at this time: "Chairman, we have to speed up the plan and act quickly."

Frank Gusta is also a decisive person and said directly: "You contact Emile Marin, if the opportunity is right, you will make a quotation, and increase by 10% on the basis of our initial estimate, up to 3 50 million US dollars."

Navas knew that it was a critical moment, and immediately said, "I will contact Artisan Pictures."

In the afternoon, Navas walked into Artisan Pictures and met Emile Marin.

Just one day later, Lionsgate Pictures officially offered Artisan Pictures 330 million U.S. dollars, and convened a press conference to publicly announce that Lionsgate plans to acquire Artisan Pictures.

This news is somewhat surprising, because Lionsgate itself is not large in scale, at best it is comparable to Artisan Pictures.

On the day Lionsgate officially contacted Artisan Films, Relativity Entertainment received the news that Robert Iger was already prepared. This is not the acquisition of a small company with zero angles, but the huge scale of Hollywood. It's strange that there are no competitors in the artisan film industry, which is quite influential.

Judging from his contacts with Emile Marin and the preliminary negotiations between Relativity Entertainment and Artisan Films, even if Relativity Entertainment has a low-key acquisition and there are no competitors for the time being, Artisan Films will make a high profile and attract competition. opponent.

Now it is Lions Gate Pictures, not the Big Six, which puts little pressure on Robert Iger and Relativity Entertainment.

Considering the situation of Lionsgate, Robert Iger also thought of a solution.

Of course, if you can solve it yourself, Relativity Entertainment does not want to ask for trouble.

Beginning in mid-January, the acquisition team of Relativity Entertainment began formal negotiations with Artisan Pictures. Artisan Pictures also has a team in talks with Lionsgate.

The emergence of Lionsgate also means that this acquisition has shifted from the dark to the bright. For their own interests, the minority shareholders of Artisan Pictures quickly held a group together, temporarily giving up private contact with Relativity Entertainment, hoping that Shares can be sold at a better price.

No one is an idiot, and no one's money comes from a strong wind. They all want to complete this transaction in the way that best suits their own interests.

The professional team is talking, and the contact at the highest level has not been interrupted.

After several contacts, Robert Iger found Emile Marin again. Emile Marin is not only the chairman and largest shareholder of Artisan Pictures, but also the representative of many shareholders.

In fact, as long as the general transaction price is negotiated at the high-level, the following negotiations will immediately make rapid progress.

In the reception room of Artisan Pictures, Robert Iger looked at Emile Marlin and said, "The third-party assessment has given your company a valuation of 300 million U.S. dollars. According to the past three years, your company's annual profit was only more than 12 million U.S. dollars. Under the circumstances, Relativity Entertainment is willing to offer a premium of $340 million."

Like this kind of acquisition, it is impossible to acquire at actual value.

Emile Marin said: "Bob, I remind you that although Artisan Films has not launched a popular film in recent years, it generates stable profits every year." He strengthened his tone: "Artisan Films is A profitable company!"

A premium purchase is inevitable. Robert Iger knows this very well and calmly said: "The premium offered by Relativity Entertainment has exceeded your company's three-year expected profit."

The price is fair, and if Lionsgate does not join the competition, Emile Marin would definitely be tempted.

But Emile Marlin said indifferently, "I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, Lionsgate offered 350 million U.S. dollars, but I refused."

"Artisan Pictures is your painstaking effort for many years." Robert Iger would not be so stupid as to directly increase the price, and said: "Liongate Pictures has not been doing very well. This is something Hollywood knows. There are too many film companies in Hollywood. Bankrupt. Mr. Marin, do you want to give your years of hard work to an unstable company to run it?"

Emile Martin was moved. From the establishment of Artisan Films many years ago to the step-by-step expansion, he invested not only time and energy, but also his own feelings.

If it weren't for old age, Artisan Films would also face difficulties, and Emile Marin would not agree to sell the company.

This movement did not last for a few secondsEmile Martin’s businessman nature finally overwhelmed his feelings for the company, saying: "I will retire soon and Artisan Pictures will complete the transaction. It has nothing to do with me anymore. ."

Robert Iger sighed secretly. It is really too difficult to impress the old fox who has worked hard in business for decades.

The interview between the two was a bit deadlocked. Robert Iger suddenly thought of last year's Universal Pictures Entertainment Group. Last year, he fanned the flames everywhere and used various conditions for profit. Is Lionsgate now playing his role last year?

Ronan's words really have some truth, and he always has to pay back when he comes out.

Robert Iger did not rush to offer any more, and later used words to temporarily stabilize Emile Marin, and began to consider whether there were other ways to achieve the goal.

The news about Artisan Pictures spread quickly in Hollywood, attracting the attention of many people and companies, and companies like Relativity Entertainment and Lions Gate Pictures that are interested in Artisan Pictures.

Artisan Pictures' film library and North American and overseas distribution channels built over decades are all very attractive.