Chapter 694: Exchange of Interests

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After leaving the Clippers' training base, Guo Shouyun returned home, dealt with the accumulated work, and before it got dark, changed his clothes and went to the Clover Country Club in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Guo Shouyun is not a member of it, but with his current status and ability, it is very simple to get a membership.

What's more, when he arrived, Howard Stringer had already arranged for his secretary to greet him outside the door.

"Bruce, long time no see!"

Looking at Howard Stringer who opened his arms and hugged him, Guo Shouyun also reciprocated with the same enthusiasm. They are all old foxes who have been in the mall for a long time, even if they are now shopping mall opponents who can't wait for each other to die, but on the surface, they are still hot.

This disgusting scene is also the norm in shopping malls.

"Howard, it's been a long time!"

After greeting each other, the two sat down opposite each other.

"Bruce, with your cleverness, can you guess what I'm asking you for today?" said Howard Stringer.

"Of course, but if you're going to persuade me to abandon the acquisition of MGM, I think today's meeting can be declared over now. ”

"Bruce, after the takeover of Universal, the Matrix not only has a large film library, but also a great script that you have created. Why did you have to buy MGM?"

"Then what did Sony buy MGM for?" Guo Shouyun said.

"We're not like Matrix, we don't have a host of lucrative film franchises like Pirates of the Caribbean, National Treasure, Harry Potter, Tales from the Night, Fast and Furious, and we don't have talented screenwriters like you. So, we wanted to buy the rights to MGM, especially 007. ”

"I'm sorry, Howard. I also want the copyright of MGM's film library, especially "007"!"

Guo Shouyun still remembers the global box office of "007: Skyfall" exceeded $1.1 billion. In addition, its first two "007: Quantum of Solace" and "007: Casino Royale" also performed very well at the box office, but I forgot how much the specifics were. But no matter how much, the "007" series of movies has endured for more than 50 years, and James Bond and Bond Girls have almost become the most classic screen images in Hollywood. This can no longer be said to be an evergreen, this is a completely enhanced version of the money printing machine.

No Hollywood film series has been popular for more than half a century. Therefore, Guo Shouyun does not want to let go of such a gold mine.

Looking at the determined eyes of the man opposite, Howard Stringer couldn't help frowning.

"Bruce, what if we give up the rights to '007' and just MGM's library?" said Howard Stringer again after a moment of silence.

Guo Shouyun smiled, "Howard, in fact, you know better than me what the fundamental reason for Sony's acquisition of MGM is. So, instead of wasting time meaninglessly. I have a more constructive proposal. ”

Howard Stringer's heart moved.

"I want to hear about it!"

"I knew that Sony was competing with Toshiba for the recording format of video discs. If Sony abandons the acquisition of MGM, then I can sign a partnership agreement with Sony, and all MGM, including Matrix Universal, will be recorded on DVD. ”

Howard's eyes lit up. Similar to Kongscat's coveting MGM library to enrich its cable TV content in order to attract more pay-TV subscribers, Sony has its own purpose in coveting MGM.

It intends to bet its future on its own Blu-ray HD DVD format, and it needs to get support for the HD DVD format from other major studios in order to cope with the format war with Toshiba.

At the time, deep-pocketed giants like Toshiba and Microsoft used huge amounts of cash to get other major studios to exclusively copy and export their films in HD-DVD format. If Sony were able to exclusively replicate MGM's library in Blu-ray format, coupled with its existing Columbia-Samsung library, it would no longer be possible to win the format war, no matter how generous the incentives Toshiba and Microsoft could provide.

"Plus the copyright of "007"!"

Howard Stringer is now the CEO of Sony America, not the CEO of Sony as a whole, so the first thing he has to consider is the interests of his own film company, so he really doesn't want to give up on the lucrative "007" movie series.

"Impossible!"

Guo Shouyun refused without hesitation, "Howard, the content of the cooperation I am talking about has been sent to Sony headquarters this afternoon, and I believe they will personally inform you what to do soon." ”

Hearing this, Howard Stringer sighed inwardly.

There is no doubt that Sony headquarters will definitely give priority to promoting the Blu-ray DVD mode.

"Bruce, you've won!"

"No, it's a win-win situation!" Guo Shouyun shook his head and said with a smile.

To be honest, he really doesn't agree with Sony's choice. Because it is soon the age of the Internet, DVD discs will be withdrawn from the market in a few years, except for collection. Sony's current efforts cannot be said to be in vain. But they also failed to reap the huge benefits they had hoped for.

"Howard, I think you should take a long-term view!" Guo Shouyun said suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

Howard Stringer frowned slightly, he noticed something strange in the tone of the man opposite.

"In addition to the good results of Sony Columbia, which you lead, the PS2 began to decline with the launch of Microsoft's XBOX, and the profit decreased by 2% year-on-year, and the network connection card sold millions of copies, and the total sales were only 2.8 billion yen, which is a disproportionate input-output. Now Sony's board of directors and management have a lot of opinions about Nobuyuki Idei, and it is even rumored that Sony's board of directors has proposed his resignation. This is an opportunity for you. ”

After a pause, Guo Shouyun took a sip of coffee on the table and continued, "Sony Columbia, which you lead, has developed well over the years, and in addition, it has contributed to MGM and Matrix Universal's support for HD DVDs, defeating the alliance between Toshiba and Microsoft. With this string of successes, you have every chance of becoming the CEO of Sony. … Isn't the CEO of a Fortune 500 company more respectable and respected than the CEO of Sony Columbia Pictures?"

Guo Shouyun's words seemed to touch Howard Stringer's sensitive nerves, making his heartbeat involuntarily speed up by half a beat.

The CEO of the world's top 500 companies is, of course, more tempting than the CEO of Sony Columbia! The promotion of MGM's acquisition at any cost is also for this reason. But... He couldn't expose the deepest secrets of his heart in front of Guo Shouyun.

"Mr. Guo, Mr. Nobuyuki Idei has been very effective in Sony's reform. Sony's board of directors has a lot of confidence in his abilities and has not heard anything about his dismissal. ”

Howard Stringer tried to keep his tone as calm as he could.

Guo Shouyun smiled, "Maybe, but the transaction between us should have a result now, right?"

"I follow the decision of the head office!"

"OK, I hope to hear back from you within three days!" he stood up, "Howard, thank you very much for today's dinner, it was delicious. ”

As friends, the content of our conversation is not necessarily about work. After holding Guo Shouyun's outstretched right hand, Howard Stringer said.

"Another day, you led Sony to form a powerful capital alliance, I want to defeat you, take back MGM, and of course find some allies!"

Howard Stringer's heart moved, and he was about to ask. Guo Shouyun didn't give him a chance.

Looking at the fast away back, Howard had a thousand thoughts rushing to his heart, but he never called his allies, including Providence Equity Partnership, Texas Pacific Capital Fund, Kongscut, and DLJ Commodity Bank Partnership.

"Boss, where are we going next?" asked Wang Jue.

"Go home and sleep!"

"Sleep, what about you?"

"I've had a few gray hairs these days because of MGM's affairs, and of course it's only fair to let Howard be the same as me. Guo Shouyun said with a smile.

Looking at Wang Jue's stunned expression, "Lie to you, when I go back, I will send an email to Carl Bass, chairman of the board of directors of MGM, saying that I will invite him to play golf at Pebble Beach at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning." ”

"This... Boss, I'm afraid you won't have time to play golf tomorrow morning. Wang Jue said.

"Why?"

"Just now when you were negotiating with Howard Stringer, we received a letter from Karl Corry, Chief Operating Officer of Kongscart. He hopes to be able to visit you at the Matrix headquarters tomorrow morning. ”

Kongscat?... Hehe, that's interesting. They didn't succeed in acquiring Walt Disney, and they didn't succeed in acquiring MGM, so they couldn't be eyeing the matrix, right?"

"The other party didn't say this!"

Guo Shouyun nodded, and after a moment of silence, "Wait until the morning after tomorrow for my meeting with Carl Bass." The time and place are the same!"

"Yes!"

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