章 540: Chapter 540: MGM Bid
At the end of November, Twilight: New Moon had been in theaters for ten days and had grossed 230 million in North America, giving the winter release season a great start.
At the same time, Stephen Cooper, the new CEO of MGM, officially announced the auction of MGM at the Hilton Garden Hotel in Hollywood.
This attracted the participation of over 30 investment institutions or companies, and of course, Capet Pictures was among them.
"Charles, do we really need to go?" Donna Langley and Charles Capet were in the office watching the television conference.
Charles smiled, "It's all about participating. With so many companies and institutions, only about five or six will actually have real contact with MGM. News Corporation, Time Warner, and adding Capet isn't much of a deal either!"
Donna Langley responded, "This auction lasts until January next year. Who knows what bids MGM will accept by then. Are we placing a bid?"
"Of course, we will bid 1.5 billion dollars. Everyone has their eyes on the same parts of MGM, and with MGM's nearly 4 billion dollars in debt, it's hard for anyone to bid much higher," Charles knew this price wouldn't impress MGM, but it was worth a try.
"I'd like to see what kind of bid Comcast will put up this time," Charles believed that Comcast was the most likely to acquire MGM.
They had deep pockets and could afford to lose money for a while.
"Right now, only Time Warner, Lionsgate, and News Corporation have a slight edge. Other investment institutions likely won't be able to compete," Donna Langley, who had been in Hollywood for many years, favored movie studios more.
"But if Comcast gets into the game, it depends on whether they are truly determined to enter Hollywood!"
Most major Hollywood movie studios had become part of larger media conglomerates, but few were in as dire straits as MGM. As for other companies like Relativity Media, they had no qualification to participate in such high-level acquisitions.
"Comcast is very determined to enter the Hollywood content arena. It's all up to how much MGM's over 100 creditors are willing to accept!"
Charles wasn't too worried about Comcast acquiring MGM. It was common for new entrants to Hollywood to pay a "learning fee."
"By the way, DreamWorks' Cowboys & Aliens is in the final stages of preparation, funded by Relativity Media," Donna Langley smiled. "The halt of many Universal projects allowed Relativity to pull back some funds. Now it's just a matter of increasing their investment share in Cowboys & Aliens!"
"It's definitely easier when you have a big name."
Donna Langley inquired, "Then what about our cooperation with Relativity Media?"
"Of course, we'll continue, but we'll slightly alter our cooperation model. We won't be bundling many projects together as much; instead, we'll move to a single-film investment model," Charles liked investors. "Now we make big-budget films; a $200 million production plus marketing costs is a lot. Ha, Relativity doesn't have many choices with their amount of capital!"
Donna Langley seemed a bit troubled, "Relativity Media is now entering the distribution business. They might not want to be just a simple film investor."
"No worries. Wall Street has money, and now there is plenty of foreign capital, especially from Asia. Didn't Reliance of India want to cooperate with us? There's also CJ Entertainment from South Korea," Charles touched his chin.
"People have dreams. Institutions like Relativity might think they have mastered Hollywood's industrial process and feel they can succeed. After all, solely being a film investor earns too little profit. Operating your own projects gives you more control!"
Donna Langley nodded, "I will talk to these two sources of capital. Let Xu Xiaoling, our head of the Asian market, get in touch; she's more familiar.
By the way, Charles, do you remember your cooperation with CJ on a South Korean disaster movie?" Donna Langley suddenly remembered.
Charles thought for a moment, "A South Korean disaster movie, it was Haeundae, right? At that time, Capet International had a 30% investment in cooperation with CJ."
"Right, Haeundae released in the summer with a $15 million production budget and grossed $72 million globally, causing a big sensation in South Korea," Donna Langley smiled. "CJ is very eager to work with us!"
Well, Charles couldn't remember such details. He only knew that India's Reliance and South Korea's CJ wanted to strengthen cooperation with Capet.
"South Korea's market is okay, but the situation in India," Charles frowned. "Hollywood hasn't really been able to crack the Indian market!"
Even though India had opened up some cultural industry policies, the complexity of its culture, languages, and social strata made it difficult for Hollywood films to succeed there.
"India," Donna Langley was also concerned. It was a unique case in the world of cinema, with a unique cultural model and production processes, too special.
"Forget it, Hollywood films have never exceeded a 10% market share in India, usually around 5%. To enter, you'd have to focus on local films."
"Over a billion people, what a shame," Donna Langley was a little regretful.
Charles smirked, "Bollywood is terrifying, producing nearly 3,000 films a year. I've traveled to Asia so many times, but I've never set foot in India."
Donna Langley laughed and stood up, "I'll have my team do a market research report on India. The international market is getting larger, and we must stay vigilant; the Asian market should still focus on East Asia's China, Japan, and South Korea."
Charles nodded, "Sure, next month, Twentieth Century Fox's Avatar is also releasing. The pressure on The Incredible Hulk is high; we need to keep up the promotion!"
"Avatar is indeed a strong rival!" Donna Langley also became serious.
*****
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