As the sky slid down the rain line, a black Cadillac drove through the Santa Monica Valley, approaching the waterfront before stopping in front of a business club.

James Nathan pushed the door and got out of the car, propped up a large black umbrella to hide his swarthy face, and walked quickly into the clubhouse.

"Hello, Mr. Nathan. Someone greeted him: "I'm Djokaf of Relativity Entertainment, and we last met in Century City." ”

The two made an appointment, and James Nathan, who naturally remembered who he was, shook hands with Djokaeff and said, "Good morning." ”

After a few polite words, Djokaeff stretched out his hand and gestured: "This way, please." ”

James Nathan followed Djokaeff into a reception room with a sea view, where coffee and snacks were immediately served.

Didn't Djokaeff meet with James Nathan for the first time, and asked directly: "Mr. Nathan, how did you think about my last proposal?"

James Nathan is a shareholder of Artisan Pictures, with nearly 9 percent of the shares, and was an investor in Artisan Pictures' financing and share expansion in the 90s, rather than a start-up shareholder.

This kind of person invests for profit.

"Although the income of Yijiang Pictures is not high, it has a relatively stable income every year. James Nathan didn't answer directly: "I've always been happy with the investment from Artisan Pictures. ”

Even if you want to sell shares, you can't just say it.

Djokaeff was in charge of approaching James Nathan and of course studied his relationship with Artisan Pictures: "As far as I know, the shareholders of Artisan Pictures have not been very happy with the company's development in the past two years. ”

James Nathan laughed and said naturally, "Shareholders will never be satisfied with a company's earnings." ”

This is simply the truth, Djokaeff could not refute it, and he would not refute it, and said: "Since 1997, the annual revenue of Artisan Pictures has been very stable, almost no growth, what does this mean? Mr. Nathan, you are a veteran investor, you should be able to see that Artisan Pictures has no development potential. ”

James Nathan still grinned: "Stability means less risk." ”

Djokaeff also laughed: "Seven consecutive years of revenue has basically not grown, from the perspective of investment and currency, it is not an exaggeration to say that the company is going downhill, the vast majority of companies and enterprises will always follow a law, and when the growth stagnation enters a flat period, it means that the decline is imminent." ”

He pressed step by step: "With the current situation in Hollywood and the operating standards of Yijiang Pictures, can this company be revitalized? Taking a step back, Yijiang Pictures can maintain its current situation in the next four or five years, and the assets in your hands will not increase in value, this is an asset worth tens of millions of dollars, is there a difference between standing still and losing money?"

James Nathan naturally understands these words, and also knows that if Artisan Pictures can no longer develop, the shares in his hands will actually be equivalent to depreciation, and he has no idea of cashing out, otherwise he will not meet Djokaf for the second time.

But of course, the shares in hand should be sold at an ideal price.

Instead of answering Djokaeff's words, James Nathan asked, "You represent the Relativity Entertainment Group, the same Relativity Entertainment Group that filmed and distributed Pirates of the Caribbean?"

Djokaeff couldn't deny it, saying: "Hollywood is now a relativistic entertainment conglomerate. ”

James Nathan suddenly picked up the coffee cup and tasted it slowly, and Djokaeff was not in a hurry and waited patiently.

After half a cup of coffee, James Nathan said slowly: "Since you said that Artisan Pictures is not in a good situation, why do you want to buy Relativity Entertainment." ”

Djokaeff smiled, a smile full of confidence: "Company is different from company. ”

James Nathan was silent for a short time, and then said without warning: "I personally agree with this deal, rather than waiting for the asset to depreciate, it is better to optimize it reasonably." ”

"It was a wise decision. Djokaf said with a smile.

But James Nathan, as an investor, is not a vegetarian either: "I could sell my stake in Artisan Pictures to Relativity Entertainment, but ...... I do not accept cash transactions. ”

Djokaev's eyes froze, knowing that things were not so simple, and immediately asked, "What does Mr. Nathan want?"

James Nathan didn't speak quickly, but what he said was astonishing: "In the share swap transaction, I traded for a stake in Artisan Pictures for a stake in Relativity Entertainment." ”

He slowly stretched out two fingers: "The replacement ratio is not high, I will replace nearly 9% of the shares of Yijiang Pictures with 2% of the shares of Relativity Entertainment." ”

Djokova's face sank slightly, and the muscles on his face couldn't help but jump a few times, what are you kidding, 10% of the shares of Artisan Pictures are not worth 2% of Relativity Entertainment.

Besides, his immediate boss, Robert Iger, has said that a share swap is never on the radar of a deal anymore.

This kind of transaction method does not mean that he has no power, and even if he has power, it is impossible to agree.

Djokaeff shook his head: "Mr. Nathan is joking. He didn't wait for James Nathan to react, and said: "The stake in your hand, Relativity Entertainment is willing to offer $25 million, please think about it." ”

Hearing this number, James Nathan's heart moved, which is more than double the amount he invested in that year.

Although he refused, this relativistic entertainment seemed to be sincere.

James Nathan nodded slightly and said, "I will seriously consider your company's offer, so let's stop here today, and we will keep in touch." ”

Djokaeff stood up and shook his hand: "Mr. Nathan can contact me at any time. ”

The two left the business club one after another, and Djokaeff rushed back to Relativity Entertainment as soon as possible to report in detail the details of the meeting.

Ronan has returned to Los Angeles from Baja California, and has listened to Robert Iger, according to Robert Iger, with the scale and strength of Artisan Pictures and the actual operation, there is not much to learn about the acquisition, and its own hard power is the key.

Although Artisan Pictures has the intention of selling from shareholders to management, Artisan Pictures is not a loss-making company after all.

According to Relativity Entertainment's multi-faceted valuation, the actual value of Artisan Pictures is about $300 million today, and its most valuable business is film library on the one hand, and production and distribution on the other.

If you want to win Yijiang Pictures, a premium acquisition is inevitable.

In the past, Artisan Pictures was definitely more valuable than it is now, and Ronan's appearance had an impact on Artisan Pictures, such as "Blair the Witch", which was purchased and distributed by Artisan Pictures at that time.

This film not only made Yijiang Pictures' performance soar that year, but also brought huge cash flow, providing financial guarantee for Yijiang Pictures to support other businesses.

In addition, Artisan Pictures has some copyrights that have not been adapted, such as Marvel's Punisher and so on.

Then there is the huge script library of Artisan Pictures, which is said to have hundreds of copyrighted scripts.

Of course, it's hard to say how much the operation will be.

These scripts are basically purchased at a very low price, and then pressed into the script library of Artisan Pictures, waiting for the day when they will see the light of day.

The vast majority of them can only wait for the dust to fall.

Ronan also wanted to take a look at Artisan Pictures' script library, who knows what kind of stock these old companies have in their script library?

But that's going to have to wait until Artisan Pictures gets it.

Robert Iger's main recent job has been working on the Artist Pictures acquisition, and after several months of preparation, the two sides have entered the stage of substantive contact, and some of his acquisition team have made initial contact with some of the shareholders of Artist Pictures, like Djokraft.

The current situation of Artisan Pictures is not bad, and it is certainly not very good, as long as the price is right, most shareholders will not refuse to sell.

As early as when he first entered Relativity Entertainment, Robert Iger set his sights on Artisan Pictures and chose to launch it during this time period, also because Artisan Pictures did have plans to "sell his body".

Hollywood's film companies, even the Big Six have ups and downs, although all the companies have been retained and occupy the absolute dominance of the industry, but the masters behind the scenes have also changed one after another.

The rise, development, bankruptcy or acquisition of medium-sized film companies seems to be the eternal theme.

Hollywood's newly developed movies don't seem to be able to escape the fate of being acquired or going bankrupt.

Emile Marin, chairman of the board of directors of Artisan Pictures, looked at Robert Iger, who was much younger than himself, in the company's reception room, and wondered if Relativity Entertainment would eventually go down the same path as Artisan Pictures.

"Mr. Marin. Robert Iger directly stated his intentions: "I heard that Artisan Pictures has plans to sell?"

Relativity Entertainment has contacted many shareholders of Artisan Pictures, and even if the private transaction is in accordance with the law, it must notify Artisan Pictures of the change of equity, and it is impossible to hide it from anyone.

There is no need to deny it to Emile Marin: "Bob, you are very well-informed, we just discussed it internally, but I didn't expect the news to reach your ears." ”

Not all of the businessmen's cheeks are grinded out, and Robert Iger is not embarrassed, showing a kind smile: "Relativity Entertainment is not the only one who gets the news. ”

Couldn't have bothered with such a question, Emil Marin deliberately asked, "Relativity Entertainment is interested in Artisan Pictures?"

Robert Iger said simply: "Artisan Pictures is Mr. Marin's hard work for many years, if it is handed over to someone else, can you rest assured? Relativity Entertainment is one of the fastest-growing companies in the industry, Mr. Ronan Anderson attaches great importance to Artisan Pictures, Artisan Pictures can join the Relativity Entertainment Group, and it will not live up to Mr. Marin's years of dedication." ”

As the founder of the company and the person who has grown and developed single-handedly, Emile Marin must be false to say that he has no feelings for Artisan Pictures.

But he is old, his ambition is no longer what he used to be, and he has not enough equity in his hands to suppress the backlash of other shareholders.

"We can talk. Emile Marin made her position clear.