Saturday, January 17, 2004 (China time).

8:10 a.m.

Friday, January 16, 2004 ET.

Seven o'clock in the evening.

The official website of Minghu Culture suddenly displayed a large banner with a red tone - celebrating Minghu Culture's successful acquisition of Columbia Pictures!

Click in, and there are three pictures inside, plus a very short text introduction.

In the first picture, Qi Jie, general manager of Minghu Culture, and Alan Wilson, chairman of the board of directors of Coca-Cola Company in the United States, are signing on the desk. There were several people standing behind him, among which standing behind Qi Jie was Li Qian with a smile on his face.

In the second picture, the two shake hands and exchange the text of the agreement.

Li Qian still appeared in the photo, but his action was changed to hugging his chest with one hand, holding his chin with the other, and looking at the two people in front of him who exchanged agreements with a smile.

In the third picture, Li Qian, Qi Jie, and several foreigners are raising their glasses.

The following is accompanied by a text description of just six lines:

At 3 p.m. EST on January 16, 2004, the signing ceremony between Minghu Culture Company and Coca-Cola Company was held on the acquisition of Columbia Pictures.

Qi Jie, General Manager of Minghu Culture, Li Qian, Artistic Director, Alan Wilson, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Coca-Cola Company, Walter Foster, Vice President, and relevant lawyers and accountants of both parties attended the signing ceremony, and held a short celebratory reception after the successful signing.

After the signing of the contract, Columbia Pictures has become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Minghu Culture.

…………

Twenty minutes later, a red keynote banner was displayed on the homepage of iFLYTEK News -

Congratulations to Minghu Culture on the success of its acquisition of Columbia Pictures!

Within half an hour of the following, several large domestic portals quickly put up relevant banners and slogans. As for the content reports, most of them directly pull the pictures and text on the official website of Minghu Culture, and make simple adjustments to the text, and it becomes their own reports.

After another thirty minutes, the news quickly exploded on the Internet!

And this, just China.

…………

At half past seven o'clock in the evening EST, the news website of Time Warner Group took the lead in making headlines with the headline "China's Li completes an amazing acquisition at the level of a snake swallowing elephant".

Within 30 minutes, the news was making headlines on the front pages of major news networks and portals in the United States, which received no less attention than in China.

Later that day, a number of TV programs changed their production direction and produced a special episode specifically about Columbia Pictures' acquisition.

There are programs in the direction of culture and entertainment, as well as programs in the direction of politics and finance.

At the same time, the news spread rapidly in China on Saturday at an extremely terrifying speed - after the Internet, the newspapers may have been unable to catch up, but the news of the major TV stations acted quickly and urgently grabbed the news and reported it.

Just this morning, some people received the news after returning from a run, and some people suddenly received the news while eating breakfast - many people were shocked when they heard it!

At the same time, some gossip seems to have inadvertently begun to circulate on and under the Internet in a small area-

Some people say that because of the strong opposition of the US government to this acquisition, there is also a lot of opposition from the people, and even within Columbia Pictures, there has been an endless voice of protest against this, refusing to be sold to a Chinese company, so Coca-Cola has been facing a lot of political pressure, and the negotiations between the two sides were also on the verge of breaking down.

So far, although the two sides have reached an agreement and signed it, it is likely that the agreement will be rejected by the US Department of Commerce - if it does, the acquisition will be invalid and the agreement will be useless.

Early this morning, the director of the US Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a vice minister of the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China flew to the United States to prepare to exert a certain amount of political pressure on relevant departments and figures in the United States.

Some people also said that in fact, it was not that troublesome, Li Qian had already directly used the money to smash the Yankees unconscious!

It is said that when the negotiations encountered resistance, Li Qian flew directly to the United States to meet Alan Wilson, chairman of the board of directors of the Coca-Cola Company in the United States, and the two walked together on the golf course for ten minutes on Thursday afternoon local time in the United States.

This can even be understood as a contemporary version of a one-handed meeting.

But the price is that there is a comparison with the price at which Sony almost completed the acquisition that year, and there is Colombia's loss-making performance for many years, whether it is in China or the United States, many professional media have given evaluations and analyses, and they have believed that the final acquisition price should be between 2.6 billion and 2.8 billion, but in the end, Li Qian went to the meeting alone to negotiate the signing price of the two parties, but it was as high as 3.1 billion US dollars.

In other words, in order to buy Colombia, Li Qian and Minghu Culture spent at least 300 million US dollars in unjust money - of course, whether it is unjust money or not, this is worth discussing.

Because of the years of slump and loss of accounts, Colombia must now be at a time when any resource is undervalued.

And even under normal circumstances, it is a normal business practice to buy a premium of less than 30% - of course, cash is always king, but it is not so easy to turn money into an industry, especially an industry that has certain advantages and roots in a certain industry, and can produce output one after another.

Some people also said that in order to successfully win Colombia, Li Qian has been forced to accept the invitation of Coca-Cola's image spokesperson in Asia - for Li Qian, a person who has never received any advertising endorsement, his first endorsement and first advertising contract are generally considered by the Chinese advertising industry to be worth at least 300 million to 500 million! And the commercial value that his endorsement can bring is even at the level of 10 billion!

Because he is no longer a simple star or idol or singer or actor, he has become a totem in the minds of the current generation of Chinese young people.

Of course, the so-called tens of billions may be a bit exaggerated, but there is no doubt that his endorsement will definitely be able to directly make a brand popular!

In short, there are different opinions.

The news spread, and there was almost jubilation on the Internet, and in reality, there were countless people discussing it loudly, and they were overjoyed, as if Li Qian had taken this step and earned a great face for the entire nation.

However, some people rejoice, and some people are sad.

So then, there was another piece of news, I don't know where it came from-

It is said that Lake Culture is in another negotiation with the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, and is even close to negotiating, only the final signing is missing - the state-owned cinema Great Wall Cinema Line, which has nearly 300 cinemas and more than 600 large screens, including many of its high-quality land, will be sold to Minghu Culture at a very low price, and then merged into the Minghu Cinema Line, which is being renovated and expanded.

But the premise is that Minghu Culture wants to buy Columbia Pictures!

That is to say, the low-cost transfer of the Great Wall Cinema Line will be a reward for Minghu Culture's acquisition of Columbia Pictures at the national government level - therefore, Li Qian has calculated that even if he loses an extra four or five billion US dollars to the Americans, he can still eat it back in one bite on the domestic side.

It's just that the country's assets were lost and given to the Americans in vain.

This news, whether it is true or not, its dark conspiracy theory tone makes it naturally have a basis that is very easy to spread within a certain range.

As for how many years has the Great Wall Cinema Line been losing money? As for the sale agreement between the two parties, is the money given by Minghu Culture actually not low, and it does not take advantage of the government at all?

These things, the people who spread some gossip, don't go back to you to discuss them at all.

It's the conspiracy theory of Hongguoguo.

Of course, this is all news that has spread in some small area.

Maybe many years later, it will still be mentioned by some people as a gossip or a legendary shady scene, but it will not have any impact on the development of things at that time.

Because, for $3.1 billion, Minghu Culture has completed the acquisition!

Columbia Pictures, one of the seven major Hollywood studios in the United States, has the surname Lee.

…………

The gate of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television.

The gatekeeper watched with some surprise as one car after another drove into the compound.

Familiar number plates, familiar cars.

However, today is Saturday, and I don't go to work.

The car stopped in the yard, and the leaders got out of the car one by one, each walking to their own office, of course, there were many people, to sit in the office, and then got up to visit the door.

The office of Zhao Sicun, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, who has only been in office for more than a year, is the one that everyone is most willing to visit.

At half past ten in the morning, the meeting was called.

Because Deputy Director Zhao Sicun was a direct participant in the content of today's meeting, and he was an in-depth participant, he overtook the two deputy directors in front of him in one fell swoop and presided over today's meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting, first of all, Zhao Sicun, deputy director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, informed everyone of the latest progress of Minghu Culture's successful acquisition of Columbia Pictures, and then, Lai Changyi, director of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, delivered an enthusiastic speech. The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China organized an inspection of several major domestic film and television companies and film and television bases to show the government's attention to film and film and television culture, and urged that the film and television base of Minghu culture should be included in it and carried out key attention and inspection.

At the end of Director Lai's speech, there was warm applause in the venue, and then, the other two deputy directors also made a brief speech, in which they expressed their extreme appreciation and recognition for Minghu Culture, a large domestic cultural and entertainment group, to acquire a large film production company in Hollywood, the United States, and seconded Director Lai's proposal, and said that he was very much looking forward to going to Minghu Culture for inspection, and looking forward to face-to-face discussions with Li Qian and Qi Jie, the pride of the country.

One of the deputy directors also cordially said that he was Li Qian's fan and a movie fan, and he could ask him for an autograph when the time came, which attracted bursts of laughter in the venue.

When the meeting is over, that is, at half past eleven, you can go back to where you came from.

Of course, this meeting doesn't seem to say anything, it doesn't seem to be, it's just that the leader made an enthusiastic speech, but through such a useless meeting, people who have been in officialdom for a long time immediately understood all the information hidden behind the meeting - the thing is really done, Zhao Sicun's position, importance, and ranking are about to rise, and Minghu culture has officially entered the "own people" who have privileges and should be given priority to the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television Then, next week, we can discuss the negotiation minutes of the overall sale of the Great Wall Cinema Line to Minghu Culture, and after discussing the sale contract, we can submit it for approval.

And so on and so forth.

When the meeting was over, everyone talked and laughed and walked out, but Director Lai Changyi stopped Zhao Sicun, and the two of them walked at the end, Lai Changyi asked with a smile: "I can't tell you clearly on the phone, can you tell me again, what's going on?" Didn't you say a few days ago that there was a temporary deadlock and that you could only talk slowly? Why did Li Qian suddenly come over and talk about it? The price given was indeed a bit high?"

Zhao Sicun replied with a smile: "What's going on, I'm also confused! Let's just say that Li Qian and the chairman of the board of directors of Coca-Cola walked together on the golf course, and it was only ten or twenty minutes, and when they came back, the matter was settled, that is, the price was much higher than Qi Jie's expectation of 2.73 billion. ”

After a pause, he smiled and whispered: "I guess Li Qian also wants to cut through the mess quickly!

Lai Changyi nodded, subconsciously raised his hand and touched the hairstyle of his sideburns, and asked in a low voice: "Is there any reaction from the US government?"

Zhao Sicun shook his head, then hesitated, leaned over, and said in a smaller voice: "I called Li Qian to ask if he came, and he told me that if the money was smashed, the US government would hand it over to Coca-Cola to communicate." ”

Director Lai laughed when he heard this, "I'll just say, he's still a goblin! This money, if you want to smash it, you have to smash it when you should smash it, and it's going to go on for a long time, maybe there will be some moths along the way, so good, so good! Anyway, Li Qian has a job in his hands, don't be afraid, make two more movies and earn it back!"

Zhao Sicun laughed when he heard this.

At this time, Director Lai said: "You are familiar with him, let's make an appointment another day, let's have a drink together, and get in touch with each other! He is also a master-level figure now, and the Golden Bear Award in Berlin is the face of our domestic films! Our State Administration of Radio, Film and Television is the competent unit, and the relationship between us and him is one of mutual cooperation, not confrontation! Tell him, don't be so unhappy to run to the yamen, and there can be friends in the yamen!"

Zhao Sicun agreed with a smile and said, "Okay, I'll tell him when I turn around!" He wants to know that you are looking for him to drink, so he will come soon!"

Lai Changyi laughed when he heard this.

…………

Time goes back to a day ago.

January 15, 2004, 10:03 a.m. ET.

A group of three five-star hotel luxury limousines drove into a golf course on the outskirts of Atlanta.

When the car stopped, Li Qian, Qi Jie and others got out of the car and were greeted by Walter Foster, vice president of Coca-Cola, and then, entering the golf course, Li Qian met Wilson.

Wilson has typical Western politeness, but Li Qian is very direct.

He directly said that he didn't know how to play golf and just wanted half an hour of conversation.

As a result, all the entourage, including Qi Jie, including Walter Foster, and a senior vice president of Morgan Stanley, were more than a dozen steps behind and followed, while Li Qian and Wilson walked in front and chatted as they went.

As a white American, Wilson is also tall, but Li Qian is tall, and from a distance, he is still a few centimeters taller than him.

Moreover, Wilson's figure was already a little uncontrollably old and bloated, but Li Qian stood there like a straight tree.

The specific content of the conversation, except for the two of them, no one knows.

Li Qian said, "You have been holding it in your hands for almost 20 years, and you have been losing money, so sell it!"

Wilson smiled, "I appreciate your oriental bluntness, but we already have a team of professionals negotiating, don't we?"

Li Qian said: "Your psychological bottom line, I don't want to ask more, your current offer is 2.8 billion US dollars, and I will give 2.8 billion US dollars!"

Wilson shook his head, "We don't have a spokesperson for Asia. ”

Li Qian also shook his head, "Then 2.9 billion is good!"

Wilson had a look of obvious surprise on his face, "Lee, can I understand that you are offering a price of $100 million for your endorsement fee?"

Li Qian looked at him and didn't speak, "So what? What do you think my endorsement is worth?"

Wilson looked up at the sky and thought for a moment before answering, "I'll pay 200 million US dollars, or 400 million Chinese dollars, and you will be the spokesperson for all Coca-Cola products in Asia for three years." ”

After a pause, he gestured with a sincere smile on his face, "Our president of Asia told me that he is willing to pay this money as long as you say yes." “

Li Qian nodded, "Okay, then three billion dollars!"

Wilson spread his hands, "Wow, Lee, you surprised me!"

Li Qian smiled, "I came with sincerity, and I hate long negotiations. ”

Wilson shrugged.

"The U.S. government won't agree to us selling Columbia, you know, it's a damage to the international image of the United States, and it's a cultural frustration for the government to sell a very powerful domestic film company to foreign investors. ”

"It's just that there are a very small number of people in the government who have some dissenting opinions! And I suspect that those people will speak only at your invitation. ”

Wilson laughed.

"Li, you are indeed an artist, and I admire your imagination. ”

Li Qian smiled, "With $3 billion, isn't it worth it for you to send someone to Washington to sell a loss-making enterprise that has been losing money for many years?"

Wilson banged the ground with a golf club and shook his head with a smile, "Lee, the U.S. government is not what you think, and we have no influence on Capitol Hill and the White House." ”

Li Qian suddenly stopped, "Then, if we can't negotiate today, when I leave, this negotiation will be directly declared broken." ”

Wilson looked surprised, and then frowned, "Are you threatening me?"

Li Qian nodded, with a sincere attitude, "Yes, I'm threatening you!"

Wilson looked up, a look of imminent rage on his face.

Li Qian looked at him calmly.

Suddenly, he said, "Three billion dollars, we make a deal, and I'll take care of the White House!"

Li Qian shook his head, "Three billion dollars, you will take care of the White House!"

Wilson spread his hands and shook his head.

"Lee, I know that your embassy has been active in Washington, so I'm sure you must already know something about the greed of American politicians!"

Li Qian thought for a moment and nodded, "Add fifty million, three hundred and fifty million!"

Wilson hesitated and shook his head, "Thirty-two billion! You know, some political resources, once consumed, cannot be used a second time! And your acquisition of Colombia is a cultural invasion of the United States!"

After a pause, he said with some excitement: "Others can't see it, but I can see it! Lee, we are not stupid! I understand what you are going to do when you buy Columbia!"

Li Qian smiled, "Allen, you're blackmailing me!"

Wilson shrugged his shoulders and said, "I don't bother to talk to you again," but then he said, "Okay, $3.1 billion, no less! Even if I'm blackmailing, but, Lee, you have to accept this blackmail!" The U.S. government, I'm playing around, you can't play it!"

Li Qian pursed his lips and pondered.

Immediately, he nodded, "Okay, it's just $3.1 billion! I'll accept this blackmail!"

Wilson laughed, opened his arms, hugged Li Qian, looked back at the group of nearly twenty people following behind, and then smiled at Li Qian: "Come on, Li, I know, Colombia is in our hands, it is losing money year after year, but once he comes into your control, it will soon become a gold mine, right? You are a great artist, and a great oriental magician!"

Li Qian smiled, "However, you still made a very good deal!"

After a pause, he shook his head and sighed, and said, "Use the U.S. government to put pressure on me, aren't you afraid of playing big, I really patted my ass and left?"

Wilson was furious, "Oh, Lee, you can't say that!

…………

Three minutes later, the two reached the top of the golf course and began to turn and walk back.

When a large crowd saw this, they stopped at the bottom of the slope and waited.

When they got closer, everyone heard that the two seemed to be arguing about something, and when they got closer, everyone heard clearly, it turned out that Wilson seemed to be inviting Li Qian to write a promotional theme song for Coca-Cola China, but Li Qian seemed to refuse directly, and Wilson was complaining that he was not a friend enough.

When he walked in front of a large crowd, Wilson smiled and announced, "Columbia will be sold to Lee's Minghu Culture Company for $3.1 billion!"

***

6,000 words, don't break the chapter, just smash it out!

Yesterday I made an oolong, but today is the end of October, is it true that there are less than 30 hours left, brothers, now there are more than 1,000 monthly passes left, everyone rummag through their pockets, at the last moment, a "perfect life"!

Come on, tear up the monthly pass and tear it up!