civilwarnovels Chapter 989 Time flies, half a month has passed
Chapter 989 Time flies, half a month has passed
Lin Haoran did not rush to answer Kirk Kocorian's question, but instead pondered it.
Although the two have become close now, they have not only completed a transaction, but can also be considered friends.
But Lin Haoran never forgot the other party's identity: a squid merchant.
The Squid Foundation is known in the United States for its unity. They may have disagreements, competition, and grudges within the organization, but when facing outsiders, they will put aside all differences and stand together.
This is the fundamental reason why they are able to wield such influence in Hollywood, Wall Street, and Washington.
Kirk Kerkelian may not get along with the Hollywood crowd, but he is ultimately the head of a squid conglomerate, and that will never change.
Lin Haoran can make deals with him, can be friends with him, but will never consider him one of his own.
This is not a matter of trust, it is a matter of stance.
In the business world, choosing the right side is always more important than choosing a side at all.
Therefore, it's impossible for Lin Haoran to open up and reveal his plans to the other party.
If I told them, they might immediately call Hollywood. That's how realistic it is!
In the business world, there are no permanent friends, only permanent interests.
Today he can sit here chatting amiably, but tomorrow he might team up with those Hollywood guys to suppress MGM for his new hotel project.
Therefore, Lin Haoran never revealed his trump card to Kirk Koccorian.
Lin Haoran picked up his coffee cup and took another sip, using this action to buy himself a few seconds to think.
The coffee had gone completely cold, and a bitter taste spread across his tongue, but this bitterness actually made his mind clearer.
He needed to provide an explanation, one that wouldn't reveal the true plan but would also seem reasonable to Kerkorian.
He cannot say that he is waiting for the privatization to be completed, because Kerkorian is unaware that he has already acquired so many shares from institutional shareholders;
He couldn't say he was in contact with Clifford Perlman, because Kirkkorian was also interested in that man;
You can't say you're using silence to lull your opponent into a false sense of security, because that sounds too much like an excuse.
“Mr. Kerkorian, I’m not holding back, I’m thinking.” Lin Haoran put down his coffee cup, leaned back on the sofa, and looked calmly at Kerkorian.
"I'm wondering, why are they so eager to criticize me? What good does it do them? I acquired MGM, I didn't steal their money, and I've never offended them at all."
My acquisition of MGM was to help MGM pay off its debts, to help MGM revive, and to help Hollywood preserve a century-old brand. They should be happy, so why are they criticizing me instead?
I've been thinking about this problem for several days, and I've finally figured it out.
Kirk Kocorian raised an eyebrow and placed the cigar in his hand on the edge of the ashtray.
"Oh? You've figured out what?"
“They’re afraid of me,” Lin Haoran laughed. “Not of me as a person, but of the enormous capital behind me. They’ve monopolized Hollywood for decades, and no outsider has ever been able to get in.”
Now that an outsider has entered the market, and one with financial strength greater than all of them combined, of course they are afraid. They are afraid I will take away their territory, their audience, their talent, and their profits.
So they want to criticize me, smear me, and portray me as an intruder so that the public will hate me, my peers will reject me, and my employees will distrust me.
They thought that would get rid of me.
Kerkorian nodded without speaking, signaling Lin Haoran to continue.
"But they forgot one thing." Lin Haoran's lips curled up slightly, revealing a subtle smile. "You can't cover the mouths of the audience, you can't control the hearts of your peers, and you can't control the eyes of your employees."
Once I improve MGM's performance, once audiences see good movies, once competitors realize they can make money by working with me, and once employees see a future with me, those smears and insults will naturally disappear.
Therefore, I don't need to respond. I just need to get things done. Getting things done well is more effective than saying a thousand nice words. Facts speak louder than words, and this principle applies everywhere.
To be honest, Kirk Kocorian didn't take Lin Haoran's answer seriously.
Is MGM so easy to revive?
Kerkorian knew very well that the company had been declining under his leadership for more than a decade and could not be saved overnight.
For a Chinese businessman with no resources, connections, influence, or experience in Hollywood to revive MGM is an incredibly difficult task.
Kirk Kocorian, who has been at the helm of MGM for over a decade, knows very well that Hollywood is not a place where you can just throw money around!
Over the years, he has seen too many outsiders who have stormed into Hollywood with huge sums of money—oil tycoons, Japanese conglomerates, European capital—each of whom thought they could use money to break down the doors of Hollywood.
The results of it?
The money ran out, the people left, leaving behind a mess.
With movies, more investment doesn't necessarily mean higher box office returns.
Sometimes, a movie with a production cost of several million dollars can gross over 100 million dollars at the box office, resulting in an extremely high return on investment.
Sometimes, a movie with a production cost of over 100 million US dollars only grosses tens of millions of US dollars at the box office, losing so much money that even its own parents wouldn't recognize it!
Does Lin Haoran understand Hollywood movies?
Obviously, they don't understand.
He understands capital operation, bottom fishing and arbitrage, and buying low and selling high.
These things work in the real estate and financial markets, but what about in Hollywood?
Whether a movie can be a box office success depends not on capital operations, but on the director's talent, the screenwriter's inspiration, the actors' performances, and an inexplicable element of luck.
These things cannot be bought with money.
You can spend ten million dollars to hire a top director, but the movie he makes might still flop at the box office.
You could spend a million dollars to hire a new director, and the movie he makes might become a box office hit.
The cruel reality of Hollywood is that input and output are never proportional.
You never know which movie will be a hit or which will flop.
This is why the six major film studios produce so many movies every year, gambling on probability with quantity, and using the profits from successful projects to fill the gaps left by failed projects.
Can Lin Haoran, an amateur, win the bet?
The probability is even lower, especially given that it is being targeted by the six major Hollywood studios.
Kirk Kocorian believes that although Lin Haoran is rich, he will realize after a few years of losses that money in Hollywood is not so easy to earn.
At that point, he will either back down and sell MGM.
Or they'll end up like those other outsiders before them, burning through their money and leaving in disgrace.
It wasn't that Kecorian looked down on Lin Haoran, but rather that he had seen too many similar examples after spending so many years in Hollywood.
Hollywood had actually tipped him off, after all, he was, after all, a squid, and even though he didn't really manage the film industry, he maintained very good relationships with those people.
How is Lin Haoran different from previous Japanese, Middle Eastern, and European investors?
He's richer than them, but Hollywood isn't short of money;
He's younger than them, but Hollywood has no shortage of young people;
He's smarter than them, but Hollywood has no shortage of smart people.
What he lacks is an understanding of the industry, an integration into the circle, and an understanding of audience tastes.
These things cannot be bought with money, nor can they be compensated for with intelligence.
But Kerkorian didn't say these words aloud.
To him, the relationship between the other party and him was simply that of buyer and seller; the transaction was complete, and the money and goods were settled.
As for whether Lin Haoran lives or dies in Hollywood, what does it have to do with him?
He has no reason to worry about a buyer, much less to point the way for a future competitor.
When he sold MGM, he had already planned that everyone would go their own way and rely on their own abilities.
Lin Haoran made a profit; that's his skill.
If Lin Haoran lost, that's his fate.
Kecorian wouldn't fawn over Lin Haoran just because he made money, nor would he mock him just because he lost money.
In the business world, winning and losing are normal occurrences, nothing to be surprised about.
He stopped dwelling on the matter and sat up straight again, saying, "Lin, it's good that you have this mindset. By the way, we've been in Reno for two or three days now, it's time to go back to Las Vegas. I have something to take care of, do you want to come back with me?"
"Alright, let's go back together then!" Lin Haoran nodded and said.
In the past few days, he has become very familiar with the Reno MGM Grand Hotel.
The revenue here is indeed much less than that in Las Vegas.
Ultimately, when people come to Nevada for tourism and vacation, Las Vegas is still their first choice. Although Reno has a place in the gambling industry, it is a whole order of magnitude smaller than Las Vegas in terms of scale, fame, and number of tourists.
When people come to Nevada, the first place that comes to mind is Las Vegas, and the second is Reno.
This gap in understanding cannot be changed overnight.
Lin Haoran knew perfectly well that the Renault MGM Grand Hotel was only a supporting role in his entire hotel empire, and could never become the main character.
But even supporting roles have their value; if managed properly, they can contribute tens of millions of dollars in profit each year.
The two people walked out of the office one after the other.
The corridor was quiet, with only the dull thud of leather shoes on the carpet.
Lin Haoran returned to his suite, where Liu Xiaoli was sitting on the sofa reading a book. She was wearing a beige knitted sweater, her hair loose over her shoulders, and she looked very relaxed.
During her time in the United States, she actually lived a comfortable life, spending her days having fun and simply taking care of Lin Haoran at night.
Life here is much more comfortable than it was in Hong Kong.
Seeing Lin Haoran enter, she put down her book and stood up.
"Pack your things, we're heading back to Las Vegas. We'll leave in half an hour," Lin Haoran said to Liu Xiaoli.
Liu Xiaoli didn't ask any more questions, turned around and went into the bedroom to start packing her luggage.
Lin Haoran stood by the window, gazing at the scenery of Renault City outside.
The small city was unusually quiet today. Unlike Las Vegas, which is bustling with people almost every day, Reno relies more on local residents and the middle class from surrounding states, or on weekends and holidays. It lacks the explosive power of Las Vegas, which attracts a large influx of global tourists.
Everything here is slower, smaller, and quieter, like a contented middle-aged person who doesn't compete or fight, but lives their life steadily.
An hour earlier, the hotel's general manager had reported to him that the occupancy rate of the Reno MGM Grand Hotel was less than 30% today.
He also went to check out the casino; there weren't many gamblers, less than a third of the number on the weekend.
Although it's not the weekend, Las Vegas has an occupancy rate of over 80% even on weekdays.
The gap is indeed large.
This also indicates that its future potential is insufficient.
……
Time flies.
In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.
February has officially arrived, and it's February 1st.
In the past two weeks, with the assistance of Citibank, Lin Haoran successfully persuaded Mr. Clifford Perlman, the former head of Caesars Palace, to join MGM Grand Hotel Company.
The other party's conditions were also very simple: they hoped to invest in the privatized MGM Grand Hotel Company and become a shareholder of MGM Grand Hotel Company. The share requirement was not high, only 5%.
After careful consideration, Lin Haoran finally agreed to his request, allowing him to acquire 5% of the shares from the secondary market.
After all, with the other party becoming a shareholder and president of MGM Grand, they will only devote themselves more wholeheartedly to running the company.
Aligning interests is the most solid form of cooperation.
Lin Haoran doesn't need a high-level employee who gets paid to work; he needs a partner who treats MGM as his own business and is willing to invest in it long-term.
Clifford Perlman was not short of money; he was one of the shareholders of Caesars Palace when he was there.
However, due to conflicts with other shareholders, he ultimately chose to sell his shares in Caesars Palace and completely withdraw from the company.
What Clifford Perlman lacks is a platform where he can showcase his talents, a project worth investing his heart and soul in.
Lin Haoran offered him a platform, projects, and even allowed him to invest, and wouldn't interfere with the company's operations. He had no reason to refuse.
The negotiation process was not easy.
Perlman is an extremely cautious person. He served as president of Caesars Palace for more than a decade and has met more bosses than Lin Haoran has met celebrities.
He wouldn't look down on Lin Haoran just because he was young, nor would he fawn over him just because Lin Haoran was rich.
What he wants is respect, trust, and equal dialogue.
Lin Haoran gave him these things, and with Citibank pushing him from behind, he came.
The news is confidential, and the outside world is unaware that Clifford Perlman has joined MGM.
Lin Haoran and Perlman agreed that the news would be announced to the public only after he had completed the privatization and made a formal announcement.
This would not bring any additional benefits to privatization.
If it were to become public, privatization would actually become more difficult.
After all, Clifford Perlman's influence in Las Vegas is by no means much less than that of Kirk Koccorian; one is a king among professional managers, and the other is a legend among casino owners.
Clifford Perlman's name is a golden brand in itself.
If the outside world knows that he has joined MGM, investors' confidence in MGM will immediately rebound, the stock price will stop falling and rise, and those retail investors who were panic selling will stop selling and may even buy back in, thereby driving up the stock price.
This is fatal for privatization; as the stock price rises, the cost of privatization increases.
If retail investors stop selling, it will be difficult to launch a takeover bid.
Therefore, Lin Haoran and Perlman agreed that this news must remain a secret until the privatization was completed.
Perlman is a smart man; he knows what's important and what's urgent, so he doesn't need Lin Haoran to give him any more instructions.
Moreover, he himself needs to acquire 5% of the shares, so he naturally doesn't want to increase his acquisition costs.
In the past two weeks, the privatization process has been accelerating.
Just today, at MGM Studios, Lin Haoran's shareholding ratio has officially exceeded 90%.
The situation at MGM Grand is even more extreme, with a 92.3% stake, not including the shares acquired by Clifford Perlman himself.
It is expected that the two companies can be successfully privatized in less than a month.
This can be considered a great help provided to Lin Haoran by those six Hollywood giants.
Most of the institutional shareholders have already sold off, and retail investors have also given up most of their shares in a panic sell-off.
For the past two weeks, Lin Haoran has not spoken out once, letting public opinion ferment on its own.
However, as the world's largest economy, the United States is filled with numerous events every day, so these media outlets cannot focus on Lin Haoran and MGM all the time.
Therefore, public opinion is actually cooling down.
The media outlets discovered that Lin Haoran simply wouldn't respond, and no matter how much they criticized him, they couldn't come up with anything new, so readers gradually lost interest.
Every day it's the same old phrases: "doesn't understand movies," "foreign invaders," and "capital harvesters." Not only are readers tired of it, but even the journalists themselves are tired of writing about it.
The Hollywood Reporter changed its cover from Lin Haoran's face to this year's Oscar predictions, Variety changed its headline from MGM's crisis to a preview of summer blockbusters, and the Los Angeles Times changed its front page from news about Lin Haoran to the California gubernatorial election.
The fervor of public opinion is like a fire that has no fuel to burn; it will eventually go out.
However, although public opinion is cooling down, it seems to be a consensus that Lin Haoran's takeover of MGM will accelerate the decline of this Hollywood giant.
This is also the biggest reason why MGM's stock price has not risen.
Even though everyone now knows that Lin Haoran is still privatizing the two MGM companies, it doesn't change the fact that people are not optimistic about MGM's future.
He didn't care about that.
Their lack of confidence is their business. When MGM Resorts announces Clifford Perlman's arrival as the new manager, public opinion will likely reverse.
As for MGM Studios, Lin Haoran hasn't been there in the past two weeks. He's only made a few phone calls with their management team to find out about their current situation.
Before Lin Haoran acquired MGM Studios, Kirk Kerkelian, as the company's largest shareholder and actual controller, did not directly participate in the company's daily operations. Instead, a professional management team managed this long-established Hollywood studio that had just merged with United Artists.
As for Kirk Koccorian, he had naturally been focusing his attention on the MGM Grand Hotel.
The current chairman and CEO of MGM Studios is a professional manager named Frank Rothman, who has been in charge of MGM Studios for a year.
Lin Haoran had already seen detailed information and financial data about MGM Studios in Las Vegas.
The current CEO of MGM Studios is competent, but to be honest, his attitude wasn't very respectful when he spoke to Lin Haoran on the phone.
It's not that he was deliberately being dismissive, but rather that there was a deep-seated sense of alienation, a sense of "you're not one of us."
His tone was polite but cold, his answers to questions were brief and reserved, and he never offered information or suggestions.
He answered Lin Haoran's questions without uttering a single extra word.
Lin Haoran had seen this attitude in Hong Kong and on Wall Street.
Those who consider themselves more senior or more knowledgeable than you will unconsciously display this condescending attitude when facing an outsider.
It wasn't intentional; it was instinctive.
This instinct is harder to deal with than intentional one, because you can't accuse someone of instinctively looking down on you.
Moreover, due to the joint exclusion by the six giants, the CEO could not hide his dissatisfaction when he spoke with Lin Haoran.
Instead of directly confronting him, he responded to every question Lin Haoran posed with an attitude of "I knew this would happen."
When Lin Haoran asked him about the company's current situation, he replied, "What else can I say? It's just the same old thing."
When Lin Haoran asked him about the state of his team, he said, "Everyone is quite worried, after all, we have a new boss."
Lin Haoran asked him if he had any suggestions, to which he replied, "Would suggestions be useful? Would you listen to them?"
Every word was like a soft nail, not painful or itchy, but it made people very uncomfortable.
Lin Haoran already has plans to find a new professional manager like this.
However, that was after complete privatization.
Prior to this, he had no intention of making any changes to MGM Studios; he merely entrusted Citibank to send a financial advisor and a legal advisor to oversee MGM Studios' funds and contracts. (End of Chapter)