章 631: Chapter 632: The Illusion is Already Clear
[Chapter 632: The Illusion is Already Clear]
The bald man was none other than Ron Perelman, one of the most notorious corporate raiders of the 1980s in America. This Wall Street wolf had rapidly amassed over one billion dollars in wealth during the acquisition frenzy of the 1980s, most famously swallowing up Revlon Cosmetic Company with a hostile bid of 150 million dollars. His aggressive acquisition tactics almost always triggered lawsuits.
However, since 1990, when Drexel Burnham Lambert, known for issuing junk bonds, faced federal liquidation due to a large number of debt defaults, Ron Perelman had begun to tone down his tactics. But it was only a surface-level change; a Wall Street wolf like him would never shed his instinct to pounce on opportunities and capture prey.
Recently, Ron Perelman keenly sensed another opportunity on the horizon. He quickly used his MacAndrews & Forbes Company to purchase 400 million dollars of long-term bonds from Firefly Group and contacted two other key figures amidst the turmoil at Firefly: Peter Schneider, head of Disney's animation department, and Roy Disney, a Disney family member and artistic advisor to Disney Animation.
When Peter Schneider heard Ron Perelman boasting about his private jet, he felt a twinge of envy but also decided to bring up the request for dedicated business jets in the upcoming negotiations with Eric Williams.
Since The Lion King's box office success, Peter Schneider had felt an unprecedented sense of relief in recent days. Over the last two years, Disney's hand-drawn animation department, including himself as the head, had suffered enough disdain from headquarters. Their 2D animations were not significantly worse than Pixar's 3D animations; in fact, several of their films exceeded the box office returns of Pixar's two 3D projects. Yet, the disparities in treatment between the two departments were stark. Pixar enjoyed a lavish office environment while they were cramped into a rundown building in Burbank. Pixar employees received generous salaries and bonuses, while the average salary in their animation department was below fifty thousand dollars. Pixar had nearly unlimited production budgets while their department faced pitifully small budgets, and while Pixar expanded, they risked being cut.
This situation simply could not stand!
Peter Schneider thought angrily to himself, imagining scenes of Eric Williams sitting idly in his office after he'd left him hanging. With the current buzz surrounding The Lion King, both internal stakeholders and external media had no doubts that this 2D animated feature could not only create a record-breaking box office but could easily earn Firefly Group over one billion dollars in pure profit over the next five years.
One billion dollars -- what an astonishing concept!
It was likely that the combined profits from Pixar's two 3D animations would not even reach that figure. Therefore, most who were paying attention to the turmoil did not believe that Eric Williams would proceed with his original plans for layoffs and reforms.
While Firefly Group continued to publicly insist that its plan remained unchanged, Peter Schneider believed that even the most foolish person would not eliminate a department that could generate over one billion dollars in animated film profits. The current situation was definitely just a delay tactic from Eric Williams, stemming from youthful arrogance and the stinginess of a capitalistic mindset. Eric Williams must have recognized the series of fatal mistakes he'd made regarding Disney's hand-drawn animation department but did not want to pay too much in compensation afterward, which was why he resorted to such clear stalling tactics.
However, Peter Schneider and Roy Disney, who considered themselves to be exceptionally perceptive, were determined that this greedy capitalist Eric Williams would not get the better of them. They were resolute not only in seeking the treatment and compensation they deserved but also in ensuring that Eric Williams suffered the consequences of losing Disney's animation department.
...
Ron Perelman's luxurious RV arrived over an hour later at a vacation villa located in East Hampton. After ushering his two guests into his study, Ron Perelman smiled and took out the cigars he had prepared in advance, offering one to each of them, saying, "Give this a try; it's authentic Cuban, rolled right on a thigh!"
Peter Schneider and Roy Disney each took a cigar and pretended to sniff it before accepting the cigar cutter and matches from Ron Perelman. They lit them up and began to enjoy smoking. Ron Perelman followed suit, puffing out a smoke ring, then said leisurely, "It's a shame this is just a cigar that has passed through the legs of a virgin, not a real virgin. I imagine only someone in Eric Williams' position could enjoy countless real virgins."
Peter Schneider scoffed, disdainfully replying, "There is no such thing in Hollywood."
Roy Disney, who was more seasoned than Peter, raised an eyebrow at this comment laced with jealousy and resentment. If he let himself be swayed by the remarks of this man before him, they would definitely lose in their collaborative negotiation.
From the moment they met, Ron Perelman had been warm and even somewhat fawning in his demeanor. But Roy Disney was not naive enough to believe he was a genuine good guy. Sol Steinberg's hostile takeover of Disney in the 1980s had forced Disney to redeem shares at nearly 200% premiums. This bald man's reputation was certainly not better than Steinberg's.
After exhaling another puff of smoke, Roy Disney finally set down his cigar and said, "Mr. Perelman..."
"Call me Ron, just Ron," Ron Perelman persisted in his cheerful demeanor, saying, "I think we're going to become friends and partners moving forward."
Roy Disney did not argue about the name. "Okay, Ron, you should understand that collaborating with you against our parent company is a form of betrayal, and if we aren't careful, we could be swept out with nothing. Therefore, Peter and I need to know all your plans, everything. If you hold anything back, our collaboration will be immediately canceled."
Ron Perelman did not respond to Roy Disney's question right away; instead, he complimented them, saying, "Since you both are here, I'm sure you have formed a defensive alliance with all the employees in Disney's animation department. Firefly Group will certainly be aware of this fact. Given the current situation, even if they find out that you are in contact with me, they wouldn't dare risk the backlash of firing you."
Clearly, Ron Perelman shared a common perspective; Eric Williams not only would not downsize the hand-drawn animation department, but would also increase his efforts to woo them, to prevent that lucrative piece from falling into someone else's hands. With his four hundred million dollar bet, that was precisely what Ron Perelman was banking on.
Roy Disney simply smiled cryptically at Ron Perelman's words.
However, Peter Schneider couldn't contain himself, exclaiming proudly, "Of course, we..."
Fortunately, Peter wasn't a fool and, sensing Roy Disney kick him gently under the table, immediately stopped talking, avoiding oversharing.
At this point, Ron Perelman realized that if only Peter Schneider were present, he could easily manipulate him, but with Roy Disney, the crafty old fox, in the room, he had to keep his wits about him. He raised a hand in a gesture to pause, got up, and walked over to a nearby filing cabinet to retrieve a document he had prepared for distribution. "So far, MacAndrews & Forbes possesses 400 million dollars in long-term bonds with Firefly Group. Therefore, the performance of Firefly will also impact us as creditors. Although Firefly Group has shown substantial profits in recent years, everyone knows that both their film and television businesses have very unstable profit prospects. To safeguard our interests, we will certainly not sit idly by while controlling shareholders of Firefly Group arbitrarily downsize or reform their lucrative business units."
Roy Disney disregarded Ron Perelman's seemingly righteous sentiments and keenly seized on a detail, asking, "When you say 'we,' what do you mean?"
Ron Perelman answered directly, "I mean me and other creditors of Firefly Group."
Peter Schneider opened his mouth but chose not to speak impulsively this time. Roy Disney also refrained from probing too deeply into who the other creditors might be, extending a hand toward Ron Perelman, saying, "Okay, please continue."
"According to the information I've received," Ron Perelman resumed without concern for the interruption, "Next month will be the time when Firefly Group releases its financial report for the first half of the year. With their outstanding earnings boosting sentiment, it is also expected to be the month when 80% of Firefly Group's dollar bonds are sold. By that time, Firefly's cumulative debt will reach ten billion dollars, accounting for 30% of its total market value. To ensure adequate guarantees for the repayment of these substantial ten billion dollar debts..." Ron Perelman paused, his shiny face taking on a somewhat fanatical expression, as he slowly stated his ultimate objective, "I hope that at that time, all creditors can unite to publicly pressure Firefly Group to allow creditors to join the board of directors."
*****
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