"What do you think of the offer from the British?"

In the conference room of AMC Cinemas Holdings in New York, the controlling shareholders gathered around the conference table, and the management of AMC Cinemas Companies' headquarters in Lewood, Kansas, could only listen to the decisions of this group of capital players through remote video to decide the future of their cinema companies.

"I don't think so, as long as the price is right, why not agree. ”

"My opinion is the same, the IPO is far away, I don't want to waste any more time, as long as the price is right... ”

"Recently I heard that several cinema companies in the United States and Europe are waiting to be sold. The other party chose AMC, I believe that the reason for choosing AMC is the same, it is the largest, not a listed company, which is conducive to mergers and acquisitions, and AMC cinemas are located in the core area of large and medium-sized cities. At the beginning, the five of us acquired one after another, but eventually came together and owned equal shares.

It has even created a small miracle in the history of leveraged buyouts. Isn't it just to sell it? But no one has ever had the ability to accept it, and the IPO of the open market of the securities exchange has always lacked a little luck.

Now that someone is willing to take over, why hesitate? Isn't that what we're hoping for?"

Listening to what this group of controlling shareholders said, the management of the headquarters in Leowood, Kansas, on the other side of the video window, had gloomy faces and very ugly expressions, but they could only reluctantly accept the decision of this group of greedy and ruthless financial capitalists, who let them be the real controllers.

This is the first-class players that Arthur needs to face next in the leveraged buyout of the rivers and lakes - Apollo Investment Funds, MG Chase Investment Funds, Bain Capital, Carlyle, and Spectrum Investment Funds.

These five private equity fund companies jointly hold AMC and have equal shares. After five top private equity funds leveraged their acquisition of AMC, they roared straight to the New York Stock Exchange. But there always seems to be a lack of luck, and with the exit period of the fund approaching, they can only say goodbye to AMC's IPO feast.

At the right moment, Arthur Boleyn appeared.

Of course, the top players in leveraged buyouts are naturally not willing to quit, and they have an insatiable appetite. In their opinion, Arthur Boleyn seemed to be the prey from England.

In fact, these five funds have recovered the funds they have invested and are basically 'zero cost' holdings, but they have been trying to cash out AMC listing.

Sending AMC to the New York Stock Exchange for an IPO is certainly the best exit option. From public market fundraising to truly permanent capital is the dream and the holy grail of private equity fund companies, firstly, because of the high returns, secondly, the elimination of tedious fundraising activities, and thirdly, the ability to expand the scope of investors.

It's just that it's really as they said, maybe it's really bad luck, and they haven't been able to succeed in the IPO, and for Arthur Boleyn who knocked on the door at this time, he naturally won't let go easily, but will open his mouth widely.

"How about a billion dollars?"

"Maybe we should have asked for more, anyway, we have to negotiate... ”

"Hehe, what if we scare the other party away? Where are we going to find such a buyer?"

Listening to the discussion of this group of greedy and shameless vampires, the management of the cinema chain is really constantly dripping blood in their hearts, and at the same time, they are also constantly cursing in their hearts, knowing that their so-called $1 billion is only the price of equity mergers and acquisitions. In addition, AMC has a debt of $1.5 billion.

"Hehe, negotiations, every negotiation is a war, but the situation is good and bad. We are not in a hurry, we are not in a hurry to talk to him, you know, in addition to AMC has a beautiful business performance, waiting for the good news of listing, we also have a magic weapon in our hands to continue to make profits, dividend recapitalization... ”

"Hahaha... ”

"Hehe... ”

In the conference room, the heads of the five foundations all laughed knowingly, not caring at all that there were already a few people on the other side of the video who lowered their heads, their faces became more and more ugly, they secretly gritted their teeth, and the management of the cinema company flashed with hatred in their eyes, of course, they are capital predators, and they also know that the management of the cinema company hates them very much, but unfortunately, they are the controlling shareholders, the masters of AMC, they can play how they want, a group of part-time workers, just be obedient, get out if you are disobedient, and replace them with obedient ones。

The reason why the heads of the five major foundations were extremely happy when they heard about the dividend recapitalization, and the management who had feelings for AMC hated and helplessly was that the so-called dividend recapitalization was that the acquirer did not have to sell the assets completely, as long as the company generally repaid the debt, it could use the cash to borrow again, and the borrowed funds could be used to pay dividends.

To put it simply, let's say a property in Beijing's Second Ring Road has been increasing in value, and the owner can repeatedly reapply for a mortgage for it to realize capital gains.

As a result, the acquired AMC has been doing its best to drive cash flow growth, and so on, and so on, the five major foundations quickly recouped their investment costs, but the debt of AMC Cinemas has become heavier and heavier.

In this way, it is likened to the goose that lays the golden eggs and lays only a huge goose, but it gets the foie gras everywhere. This is how the arbitrage of AMC by private equity shareholders operates.

Arthur looked at the detailed information about the five holding funds in his hand, his brows furrowed even tighter, he also knew that he was facing the world's top counterparty this time, and he had already prepared the acquisition negotiations would be very slow and difficult, and he could not cut through the chaos quickly, and he also needed to maintain enough caution and awe of risks.

In fact, this time he needs to face two symbols of America, Wall Street and Hollywood. If you want to take ownership of AMC and become its new owner, it may be a long way to go!

In fact, everyone knows that in a large-scale leveraged buyout war, speed is everything.

If a competitor emerges, a long period of competition will raise the price of the acquired company, which means that the acquirer will need to borrow more money to buy the company, and the debt will be heavier. If there is an open bid, the takeover war will turn into a ROU battle, with buyers suffering the most.

To be honest, Arthur can negotiate with the other party in a good manner, as long as the price is not too excessive, he can complete the acquisition quickly, anyway, the funds for his acquisition are also loans from Barclays, and Barclays is willing to lend him money.

Why do you like to borrow money and use leverage to buy companies?

This is because, according to U.S. tax law, only interest expenses can be deducted from a company's pre-tax profits, while dividends cannot be deducted before tax. U.S. income tax law is undoubtedly the spark that ignited leveraged buyouts, and high-yield bonds are the ones that made them a fire. Michael Milken, the former high-yield bond emperor on Wall Street, has repeatedly raised huge sums of money in leveraged buyouts. These bond funds provided great convenience for leveraged buyouts, like high-quality fuel, turning Volkswagen's Beetle into a speeding Ferrari in one fell swoop.

Borrowed money always has to be repaid, what to pay back, how to pay back?

The first is to extend the loan term, the second is to issue new bonds to repay old debts, and the third is to IPO...

So for Arthur, the funds are very abundant, but he doesn't want the greedy vampires on Wall Street to take too much advantage of him, and no one's money is blown by the wind.

Negotiation is a war, and whoever loosens first loses!

Not only must it be fast, but it must also be tight inside and loose outside, and the sword and sword shadow inside will not be shocked on the surface. In addition, confidentiality is key. There's a famous saying on Wall Street that if a merger doesn't work out and it makes the news, you're in big trouble, and once the news of a company's acquisition leaks out, many people will participate in the bid, even their brothers.

So, once negotiations begin, a non-disclosure agreement must be signed first!

"Knock-"

"Come in!"

Arthur put down the document in his hand, looked at the subordinate who pushed the door in, and asked, "Is there a result?"

"Yes bosses, they accepted our offer of $1 billion and asked us to take on all the debts of $1.5 billion... ”