Of the three candidates, Vacheron Constantin has the longest history of producing high-quality watches, having been founded for more than 200 years.

In 1987, after the death of Jacques Cutler, then head of Vacheron Constantin's controlling family, his children chose to sell the brand and were bought by Ahmad Yamani, the former Saudi oil minister who had just emigrated to Switzerland.

As one of the few non-royal government leaders in Saudi Arabia, Ahmad Yamani has achieved the position of Saudi Arabia's most important oil minister with his outstanding personal ability, and single-handedly orchestrated the Middle East oil crisis in the seventies, winning a lot of benefits for OPEC.

It's a pity that personal ability can't withstand the palace struggle after all.

In the mid-eighties, when Maharaja Yamani's biggest patron, the Saudi crown prince, was assassinated, the oil minister was dismissed by the new Saudi king the following year and moved to Switzerland to avoid further purges.

At the time, Vacheron Constantin was looking for a buyer, and Armani took advantage of it.

Media reports said that the former Saudi oil minister was keen on collecting watches and clocks, which led to the purchase of Vacheron Constantin. However, in Simon's view, this incident is more like the memory of many wealthy people from emerging countries who went to the West to buy basketball teams or football teams, a typical way of self-preservation.

Vacheron Constantin, like Rolex and Patek Philippe, is one of Switzerland's top watch brands, and the purchase of such a company can greatly enhance the owner's international reputation.

In many cases, fame is indeed an invisible talisman.

After so many years from the mid-80s to the present, Saudi Arabia has long since the political situation is solid, and no one cares about a long-lost former oil minister, and Yamani began to seek to sell the watch brand, which has taken up much of his assets.

Unlike ordinary watch companies that are mass-produced, Vacheron Constantin's annual production has only just exceeded 11,000 pieces. However, because the average price is more than 10,000 US dollars, there are many luxury limited editions every year, and the turnover in 1993 is equivalent to 143 million US dollars, and the net profit is 21 million US dollars.

In the initial contact, the Armani side made an offer of $300 million.

Unlike luxury goods companies in the apparel and luggage categories, top watch brands can expand rapidly by increasing production and strengthening marketing, so although their earnings are stable, their growth is weak. According to the profit scale in 1993, the quotation of 300 million US dollars, the price-earnings ratio of 14 times is still high.

According to the assessment in the data just now, the actual acquisition should be able to take the company for up to $250 million.

Sophia gave Simon a glass of juice, but she was still reluctant to get off his lap, and when she heard the man say that "all are good and both have problems", she said, "That's why I want you to make up your mind." ”

Simon took a sip of the cold fresh apple juice, wrapped his other hand around the waist of the woman in his arms casually, and said, "Three companies, you should want to get Bulgari the most, right?"

Sophia nodded, moved her body slightly to make it easier for the man to hug herself, and said: "I have investigated many comprehensive jewelry and watch brands, Cartier, Bulgari, Piaget, etc., as well as our own Van Cleef & Arpels, and found that these companies have a unified characteristic, jewelry sales are the majority, sales are basically more than 70% of the brand's total revenue, and watches often only account for about 20%. ”

Simon smiled: "So, it's better to make a woman's money." ”

Sophia gave him a slight glance and continued: "Unlike luggage and apparel companies like Gucci and CK, top jewelry and watch companies can't expand too much if they want to maintain brand value, and it's best to maintain the turnover of a single brand within $1 billion." Therefore, if we want to expand this part of the business, we can only expand in disguise by acquiring multiple brands. ”

Simon pointed out the problem facing Sophia directly: "The Bulgari family is not willing to sell too many shares, how are you going to solve it?"

Sophia said: "I thought about it, if we were willing to give up a part of Melisandre's shares, the Bulgari family would be tempted. ”

Melisandre's previous acquisitions have used cash, so the company now has no other shareholders other than Simon and Sophia.

Over the years, through several successive incentive equity transfers, Simon has given Sophia a total of up to 20% of Melisandre shares.

Because of the lack of listing, the valuation of Melisandre has been very different, generally ranging from $5 billion to $10 billion. Even according to the lowest valuation of $5 billion, Sophia is now a top female billionaire with a net worth of $1 billion.

However, Sophia has been very low-key in this matter, and the shareholding structure of Melisandre's company has been kept secret, and many media even think that Melisandre is fully owned by Simon, so the woman has never appeared on any wealth list.

Using the shares of Melisandre, one of the four women of the Westeros system, for a share swap acquisition, the Bulgari family should understand the gold implications as long as they are not stupid.

Simon didn't have much objection to Sophia's suggestion, but said, "You have to think about it, Sophie, if you use Melisandre's stake this time and buy other brands in the future, the other party will probably make the same request." ”

Sophia said: "I know, but we will definitely have no problem maintaining a controlling stake for a long time to come." For example, this time, I think it is enough to transfer 3% of the shares to the Bulgari family, and the rest will be paid in cash. ”

Simon asked again, "What about valuation?"

If you want to swap shares, Melisandre's valuation is also a very troublesome issue.

The huge difference in the valuation of Melisandre is not unreasonable, as it is true that the company is not easy to value. In the past few years, due to different shareholdings and different types of subsidiaries, Melisandre's financial reports were calculated separately for each subsidiary.

Take 1993, for example.

Gucci remains at the heart of Melisandre, with a 75% stake, 1993 revenues of $1.89 billion, a growth rate of 32%, and a net profit of $310 million.

Subsequently.

Van Cleef & Arpels: 60% stake, 1993 revenue of $350 million, growth rate of 35%, net profit of $59 million

CK: 55% stake, 1993 revenue of $170 million, growth rate of 33%, net loss of $8 million

Château Latour: 100% shareholding, annual revenue of $36 million in 1993, a growth rate of 7%, and a net profit of $6 million.

Christie's: 31% stake, 1993 auction turnover of $2.36 billion, a growth rate of 41%, net profit of $73 million.

In 1993, the profit attributable to the parent company of all of Melisandre's brands was about $290 million, based on shareholding and profit figures.

However, for the development of these companies, Sophia did not implement the full dividend, but only recovered about half of the profits.

That's not to say.

Based on the net profit attributable to the parent company of 290 million US dollars, and because Melisandre has maintained a high growth rate of more than 30% except for Château Latour, which Simon is a collection, if the IPO operation is carried out, it is easy to obtain an IPO valuation of 20 times the price-earnings ratio, which is close to the market value of 6 billion US dollars.

If it is really listed, it is not a big problem for the price-earnings ratio to rush to more than 30 times after listing, and it will be a market value of tens of billions of dollars at that time.

Therefore, now that both parties are not listed, if they want to adopt the share exchange acquisition model, the valuation issue will inevitably lead to a tug-of-war between the two parties.

The best solution is, of course, to go public.

Sophia can probably guess Simon's mind, although she has been low-key all these years, she is not opposed to Melisandre's listing at the right time, saying: "If it is an IPO, it will definitely be too late this year." ”

Simon thought for a moment and said, "Then let's talk about it, try not to suffer too much." Moreover, we can give the Bulgari family about the listing in advance, which should also win us a lot of initiative. ”

Sophia nodded.

The miracle of market capitalization created by Daenerys Entertainment's IPO is well known even as far away as Italy.

Melisandre is also a 'woman' under Westeros, and probably no one doubts her prospects. The Bulgari family should also know that once Melisandre carries out an IPO, the value of the other party's shareholding is likely to double within a year or two if it acquires the equity of Melisandre in a privatization state.

This rate of return is definitely very attractive.

After talking about Bulgari, which Sophia was most inclined to, Simon asked again: "What's going on with Versace?"

Sophia said: "I met Gianni Versace at the Cannes Film Festival in May, and after a few conversations, they invited me to a party for the Versace brand, and then we had a few contacts. In the middle of last month, Versace took the initiative to test whether I would be interested in taking a stake in his company. ”

Simon smiled and asked, "What do you think?"

Sophia took the cup that had bottomed out unconsciously in Simon's hand, sipped the straw and drank the last juice, put the glass next to it, and said: "Versace obviously wants to use our influence to get rid of the mafia, so this matter is not what I think, but what you think." You're a man, and of course you have to decide. ”

Why was the former Gianni Versace shot?

Because Versace wants an IPO.

After the IPO of a company, it is necessary to publicly disclose the operation and financial status, and if some people do not want to be caught, it is impossible to use the shell of Versace to launder money.

At the end of the day, Gianni Versace just wants to get rid of the Italian mafia.

It's a pity that it didn't work out in the end.

Simon has no fear of the mafia.

The Italian mafia prides itself on being a group of outlaws, and Simon, who dares to start a war in Africa, is not a higher-ranking outlaw.

What's more, the mafia should not forget Mussolini's iron-blooded methods back then.

Because the deterioration of social order in the past few years has led to the boiling of public discontent, the Italian government has continued to increase its efforts to crack down on crime in recent years, and with the continuous layout of the Westeros system in Italian political and business circles over the years, if the mafia dares to provoke itself, Simon does not mind instigating the Italian government to launch a larger-scale anti-crime operation.

Sophia, who was waiting for Simon to make a decision, suddenly felt a certain cold depth emanating from the man in front of her, and quickly realized that she had made a mistake.

Very serious mistake.

The little man who is so powerful that many people are desperate is of course not afraid of those bedbug-like underground forces, which is why she put the information of Versace in front of him.

However, because of this kind of trivial matter, releasing the devilish side of his heart is not what she wants.

Sophia would rather her little man bully herself to death in bed than be wrapped in negative emotions that should never be on him, he should always be decent.

Thinking of this, Sophia leaned over Simon, kissed him gently, and said, "I have decided, the next target is Bulgari." ”

Simon wrapped his hands around the woman's waist, looked at her for a moment, and suddenly smiled: "Are you worried that one day I will suddenly return ......to mental illness?"

Before she could finish speaking, Sophia kissed her again.

After a long while, the lips of the two parted, and Sophia's face rubbed against the man's cheeks with light stubble, and her tone became a little firmer: "It's Bulgari." ”

Simon nodded slightly: "Okay, listen to you." However, it is not bad to buy Vacheron Constantin by the way. ”

The merger war of the world's major luxury giants began in the late 90s when the European economy recovered, and now, since there is no shortage of funds and sufficient strength, of course, the sooner the layout to win more luxury brands, the better.

Sophia hummed softly.

Neither mentioned Versace afterwards.

However, Simon occasionally flashed a thought, since it could not be acquired, such a company must be completely ruined. Both Italian brands, Versace's style has many similarities with Gucci and is one of the most direct competitors. Since Gianni Versace has moved some thoughts and cannot rely on the Westeros system, he may be able to push the other party to carry out the IPO of Versace in advance.

Quietly making up his mind, Simon quietly continued to discuss with Sophia some details of the acquisition of Bulgari and Vacheron Constantin, and the two left Martha's Vineyard together at about ten o'clock in the morning.

It was almost noon on the time to return to Greenwich from the island, and after lunch at Sophia's house, Simon rushed to the airport to leave for the West Coast.

Boeing 767 front cabin.

After the plane lifted off smoothly, Girl A sent a thick stack of documents that Simon needed to read to the study in the front cabin, and Neil Bennett also handed Simon a coded suitcase after getting on the plane, which contained regular operational reports and intelligence summaries from the Westeros family intelligence team.

Simon didn't rush to open the lockbox, but first looked at the North American theater box office data for the past week.

Today is Saturday, July 16th.

In the last box office week from July 8th to July 14th, the two new films in North American theaters, "True Lies", relied on the creative partners of James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, who created the "Terminator" series, to successfully withstand the crushing of the phenomenal "Forrest Gump", and the revenue reached $40.83 million in the first seven days.

This is actually the reason why "True Lies" and "Forrest Gump" are very different in terms of subject matter and audience.

"True Lies" is an action blockbuster, full of popcorn attributes, and "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" in early June, which consumed audiences** to revive after a month, and no other blockbusters of the same genre appeared during this period, so it was a success.

However, "True Lies" can still only rank second on the box office list in the first week.

In the second week of its release, "Forrest Gump", after the number of screens screened increased from 2,137 in the first week to 2,836, the box office fell by only 11% in the second week, and it collected another $47.53 million, easily winning the single-week box office champion.

Within two weeks of the opening of the film, "Forrest Gump" directly rushed into the 100 million yuan box office club, with a cumulative box office of 100.98 million US dollars.

Because the two blockbusters were too strong, last week's other new film, Julia Roberts-starring romantic movie "I Love Trouble", only grossed $12.28 million in the first week, ranking third.

Daenerys Entertainment initially signed a five-film contract with Julia Roberts, however, with many things changing, the actress is still popular after consecutive blockbuster movies such as "Pretty Woman" and "Gannet Assassination", but Simon doesn't think much of each other.

Coupled with the lack of a suitable project in his hands, Simon generously let Roberts go to work with other film companies.

Warner Bros. invested in this "I Love Trouble", because of Roberts's participation, the production cost is as high as 45 million US dollars, and the box office of 12.28 million US dollars in the first week is less than half of Warner Bros. expected to be 30 million US dollars in North American box office, which means that Warner will continue to lose money on this project.

"Gambler Ma Huali", which started in the summer, has already fallen behind, and now, another expensive romance film has stumbled, and Warner has to rely on the profits created by "Batman: The Dark Knight Rises" to continue to make up for the shortfall.

According to Girl A's notes after the box office statement, after yesterday's weekly box office data came out, Time Warner's stock price fell 2.9% on the last trading day of the week, and the market value fell from $16.1 billion to $15.6 billion in one day, and the market value evaporated by $500 million in a single day.

Hit by the box office success of "True Lies", "The Conjuring", which was released in its fourth week, fell by 31% at the box office this week, collecting another $12.15 million, narrowly behind "I Love Trouble".

However, the cumulative box office of the opening work of the Conjuring Cinematic Universe has reached $96.31 million, and it is about to break 100 million.

Jack Nicholson's new film "Werewolf Life and Death", which was released during the box office week of the Independence Day holiday on July 1, fell by 54% at the box office the next week, collecting only $11.45 million, ranking fifth on this week's list, with a cumulative box office of $36.36 million in two weeks, and the total box office in North America is expected to be about $50 million.

Considering that the film cost as much as $50 million just to make, Jack Nicholson, who was out of luck, had no hope of turning over.

In addition to the top five, the sixth-ranked "Phantom Wizard" fell by 49% at the box office the next week, and the box office shrank to less than $10 million in a single week, with a box office of only $7.51 million and a cumulative box office of only $22.18 million.

Other films such as "Zero Point Blast", "City Hillbilly 2", "Beverly Detective 3" and other major Hollywood studios originally had high hopes for a series of films, with the release of "True Lies" and the phenomenal outbreak of "Forrest Gump", they have completely withdrawn from the competition for summer files.