In America, acquiring a publicly listed company is a complex process, with intricate procedures and lengthy timelines, often taking half a year or even longer.
However, MGM has its peculiarities; it is indeed a listed company, but 92% of its shares are concentrated in Kirk Kerkorian's hands, with only 8% truly circulating in the market.
Of this 8% of shares, MGM's senior and middle management held 5%. For example, Xia Li Cooper held 1% of the shares, so in reality, only 3% were in the hands of individual investors.
And it just so happened that after the disastrous failure of "windtalkers," the 3% held by those individual investors in the market had been completely sold off and quietly acquired by Dad immediately. So, theoretically, Xia Li Cooper could now be considered MGM's second-largest shareholder.
As for the shares held by other mid-to-senior level MGM employees, Xia Li Cooper certainly couldn't buy them. He had conflicts with that group of people, but while he couldn't do it, Kirk Kerkorian could.
Thus, in a very short time, Kirk Kerkorian increased his stake to 96%, and the two of them collectively held 100% of the company.
Next was delisting, which was the true purpose of consolidating the shares: to delist MGM and privatize it.
Finally, it would be sold directly to The Coopers, which would save a lot of acquisition time, potentially resolving the battle within a month.
While listed companies can raise capital for development, that's relative to average companies. For Eric, who has the advantage of foresight, it's completely unnecessary; being listed would only drag him down.
Moreover, MGM is in such a dire state now, already highly unfavorable in the market. Even if it were listed, it wouldn't raise much money and would only add trouble, so it's truly unnecessary.
As for the government departments, that's even less of an issue. Money talks, and the process went unexpectedly smoothly!
As $2 billion gradually arrived, news of MGM's impending acquisition also circulated in the market.
Inside the company, the atmosphere was still gloomy due to the box office failure of "windtalkers." Upon hearing this news, some mid-to-senior managers began investigating information about the acquirers, while the grassroots employees showed no reaction.
Whoever it is, it doesn't really concern them. No matter who takes over, they'll still be needed. If they dare to fire them, they'll protest; the union isn't just for show.
However, Sony and Warner Bros. were even more concerned than a few executives.
Both companies had long wanted to take over MGM and had privately negotiated with Kirk Kerkorian many times, but the results were not satisfactory.
The reason was simple: they didn't offer enough money!
Sony and Warner Bros. were only willing to offer $400-500 million in exchange for a portion of MGM's shares, thereby gaining management rights over MGM.
These two major companies believed that with their strength, they could revive MGM and then gradually dilute Kirk Kerkorian's equity, thus acquiring MGM at a relatively small cost, though it would take a longer time.
However, Kirk Kerkorian wasn't buying into that. He only wanted cash, ample cash. Anything else was nonsense.
Kirk Kerkorian was completely uninterested in the plans Sony and Warner Bros. talked about, such as IPs, studios, directors, special effects, and so on.
Any acquisition that didn't involve cash, in the eyes of this casino mogul, was a rogue move, a free ride.
So when Sony and Warner Bros. learned that the acquisition amount was as high as $2.8 billion, and in cash, they extinguished any thoughts of interfering.
2.8 billion US dollars, even if split equally between the two companies, would require each to contribute 1.4 billion US dollars, not to mention that they couldn't possibly split it equally.
The most important thing is cash. No matter how many fixed assets or how big the IP, it's useless if it's not cash.
With no one causing trouble, the delisting was completed in just one month, and the subsequent acquisition process went very smoothly. Meanwhile, major Hollywood companies and even some forces on Wall Street turned their attention to the Cooper Family.
No one believed they could suddenly come up with $2.8 billion. In the market's view, the father and son must have been acting as a front for some wealthy backer.
But regardless, Eric suddenly became a hot commodity in Hollywood, and Xia Li Cooper's status rose even higher.
Previously, he was just MGM's CEO, an insignificant employee under Kirk Kerkorian.
Now he is still MGM's CEO, but his identity has transformed into that of a film mogul boss with hundreds of millions in wealth.
By mid-August, after a month and a half of busy work and over $8 million spent on smoothing things over, the acquisition was finally settled, a speed that was nothing short of miraculous.
In Xia Li Cooper's opinion, there was really no need to rush so much. That was eight million US dollars, enough to make a B-movie.
But Eric insisted on speed, because the post-production for "red dragon" and "barbershop" was already complete, and they would be released soon.
These were two highly profitable movies, and it was possible they might give Kirk Kerkorian some ideas, such as demanding a temporary price increase, similar incidents being quite common.
Moreover, Eric was also uneasy about the other major film companies. In short, delay breeds trouble, so it was better to secure the deal.
At night, the Cooper Family was hosting a party, with only a small number of guests: Eric's four best friends and a few of his father's friends.
The reason for inviting these people was, of course, to initiate a major reshuffle of MGM's senior management.
The structure of a film and television company is very complex, including multiple departments such as marketing, production, creative, administrative, finance, and script, with each department having several sub-branches.
For example, the distribution and marketing department is responsible for art design, poster production, advertising placement, and other tasks, with over 2,000 employees just in its various sub-departments.
Counting the personnel in other departments, MGM employs over 3,000 people, with monthly salary expenses reaching several million US dollars.
However, don't think 3,000 people is a lot. Compared to Warner Bros. and Disney, MGM is just a small fry, because Warner Bros. has over 80,000 employees worldwide, which is terrifying.
Among the seven major film and television companies in Hollywood, MGM has the fewest employees, which indirectly reflects its most desolate state.
However, even with over 3,000 people, there were many factions within the company. Although Xia Li Cooper was the CEO, he couldn't control the overall situation, and there were many people in the company who opposed him.
So at the beginning of this acquisition, Dad contacted several executives from smaller companies, inviting them to join MGM to replace the disobedient individuals.
As for Judy, Warren, Bordeaux, and Billy, it was still too early for them to take power. They should first follow and learn, and then when they are capable of handling things independently, they can take on more responsibility.
Gathered around the barbecue grill, Eric chugged some beer: "I've been so busy lately, but now things are finally settled. Are you all ready to enter the industry?"
Upon hearing this, the four immediately started talking excitedly.
"We've come this far, do we have a better choice? Hahaha."
"Exactly, I contributed 3 million US dollars, no matter how small, I'm still a shareholder, right?"
"The film and television industry, I seem to hear the call of countless beauties."
"Seriously, Eric, what positions are you planning for us?"
Eric flipped the barbecue: "First, go to various departments to learn for two months. I want you to familiarize yourselves with all the work in your respective departments within two months. I need to know what you're best at, and of course, you also need to do other tasks I assign."
"What kind of work?"
"Many things, such as discovering and acquiring copyrights, including potential comics, novels, games, and so on."
"Like 'spider-man'? So far, it's the North America box office champion!" Warren said.
"'Resident Evil' is also good. Although I haven't played the game, the movie is great, and Milla Jovovich after being infected is so hot! And the box office is also very high."
Eric nodded: "That's well said. Zombies are a very marketable theme. I also plan to shoot a TV series, and I need you to do a market survey to ensure there are no copyright issues. After you start, work with the marketing department to do this well."
"Also, transformers has great adaptation potential, but the copyright is with Hasbro. This is a lucrative opportunity, and we need to secure it."
"There's a writer named George R.R. Martin, he has a great work called 'A Song of Ice and Fire.' He's worked in Hollywood. No matter what, I want to get his copyright."
"And one very important thing: who among you likes bad movies?"
The four looked at each other, not understanding what he meant.
"I mean those movies with simple special effects, low cost, cliched plots, and very low ratings, the kind that don't even get shown in cinemas."
Warren swallowed a piece of barbecue and mumbled, "DVDs? As long as there's a stimulating cover, there are tons of these movies in the DVD market. My dad loves them; he bought a huge pile, and I've seen quite a few too."
Eric's eyes lit up: "Exactly, the television and DVD markets are indeed the main territory for bad movies. Warren, are you interested in helping me manage a bad movie company?"
"What?"
Warren choked, looking like he couldn't breathe.
Judy gave him a strong pat on the back, which made him spit out the barbecue.
"I understand 'company,' but what does a 'bad movie company' do?"
"It's a film and television company specifically for making bad movies. Of course, 'bad movie' isn't a derogatory term here. What I want is small investment, big returns. It's about playing the long odds, like many B-movies, understand?"
Warren frowned: "You mean like the blair witch project?"
"Something like that, but the blair witch project's marketing and distribution were too expensive. We're not doing that model. I just want those purely cheesy, knock-off, vulgar movies, understand?"
Warren hesitated: "I've seen quite a few of these movies, but can they really make money? And is it really a good idea to do this?"
The other three were also speechless: "Eric, making bad movies is like ruining your own reputation."
"Yes, big companies certainly wouldn't do something like this. That's why I had you register a company a while ago, right?"
"You mean AK Films?"
"Right. After we take over MGM, I'll select a group of professionals to join AK Films. It will be my front, specifically for making bad movies."
The four suddenly realized. At the time, Eric had them register a company and then there was no follow-up. It turned out he had already planned it out.
And Eric's plan was not a whim, because there is indeed a company in Hollywood that specializes in making knock-off bad movies, called The Asylum.
Its films include, but are not limited to, "Atlantic Rim," "Battleship," "Age of the hobbits," and "Avatar vs. Aliens." Just by the names, a strong knock-off flavor stands out.
Moreover, The Asylum's movie costs are generally controlled within $1 million. You read that right, not even $5 million, just $1 million.
Whether it's special effects or costumes and props, they immediately give off a cheap, roadside stall vibe.
But strangely, every movie from The Asylum makes money, and it even launched a very famous bad movie series, "sharknado," which has made a name for itself in the global bad movie scene.
Later, as more bad movies were made, a fixed fan base even formed.
We know you're bad, but we just want to see what new heights of badness you've reached this time, and we'll even buy a set of genuine DVDs to collect.
This phenomenon of appreciating ugliness is somewhat similar to the release of "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" in China back then, where a large number of viewers went to the cinema with an aesthetic of ugliness, contributing a wave of box office revenue.
As for whether such blatant trend-chasing and knock-offs would lead to lawsuits, the answer is no.
The Asylum started its knock-off path in 2005. By 2023, it had knocked off over 300 Hollywood blockbusters, and all major Hollywood companies had fallen prey to The Asylum, yet it had only been sued twice.
Original companies simply couldn't be bothered with legal procedures, because they were time-consuming and usually unwinnable. Have you ever seen Nanshan's "Invincible Lawyer" lose?
The Asylum was once sued by Warner Bros. over "Age of the hobbits," but The Asylum stated that their Hobbits were an indigenous tribe from Indonesia and presented various scientific reports, arguing that they were completely different from Warner Bros.' fictional Hobbits.
Because of this, and because The Asylum's bad movies generally don't go to theaters, almost all of them are for television and DVD, their target audiences are different, and there is no point of competition.
Moreover, not only was there no point of competition, but after The Asylum made a name for itself, its knock-off blockbusters could actually help promote the original versions, a win-win situation, so why not?
In Eric's vision, AK Films would have similarities and differences with The Asylum. The similarities, of course, would be various terrible movies. The difference is that AK would also shoot some low-budget B-movies, which might not be bad enough, but their costs would certainly not be high.
Another very important point is that Eric really needs money. He still owes the bank $2 billion, and the annual interest is an astronomical figure for ordinary people.
So he needs to make money, desperately make money. Unfortunately, the film and television industry is a slow-return business. After delisting, he can't exploit shareholders either, so the only thing he can rely on is himself.
So, money! Money! Money!
Important things are said three times: Eric must make money frantically!
He has even turned his attention to the stock market. Although he doesn't know much about this industry, there are a few companies that are definitely not a loss to buy.
Besides, AK Films is his front, so he can start by making knock-offs of MGM's movies.
And it's only 2002 now; The Asylum hasn't embarked on this path yet, so apologies, I'm going to preemptively occupy this lane.