Looking at the three old men on the opposite side frowning at the same time after seeing the data on the notepad, Eric explained unhurriedly: "Firefly still insists that it can only sell a maximum of 25% of Firefly shares, but because ABC and Firefly are registered in Delaware. Under Delaware's General Corporation Law, as long as the parent company acquires more than 90% of the shares in the subsidiary, the board of directors of the parent company can unilaterally propose a privatization of the remaining outstanding shares, and the form of privatization is determined by the parent company, without the need to consult the subsidiary's board of directors and investors. Therefore, if ABC can cooperate with Firefly to acquire 90% of the shares in advance, we can make a cash purchase of the remaining 10% of the shares, and the remaining shareholders do not have to participate in the 25% share exchange, and Berkshire Hathaway and Mr. Murphy's company will receive no less equity than Mr. Buffett's proposal. ”

There are two types of taxes in the United States: federal tax and state tax, but the percentage of state tax varies greatly from state to state, and many companies in the United States choose to register in Delaware because of Delaware's special tax exemption policy.

As a well-known lawyer, Charlie Munger saw some of the problems at a glance: "But, Eric, haven't you thought that this is still a plan that is likely to cause an SEC investigation. ”

As the world's most mature bond market, in order to make the securities market develop more healthily, the United States protects the interests of small shareholders much stronger than that of major shareholders.

Eric didn't avoid Charlie Munger's gaze and said, "I've consulted with the company's lawyer, and it's not illegal. Similarly, the interests of ordinary shareholders will not be harmed, and Firefly will still buy their shares at a price 50% higher than the share price. ”

During the conversation between the two, Buffett couldn't help but think of the decline of Salomon Brothers four years ago. It wasn't just the fake bidding case that destroyed the Solomon brothers. Before the Salomon Brothers incident, Buffett appeared in court only a handful of times in his nearly 60 years of life, and he was never a defendant once, which is a record compared to other investors who are always in deep disputes.

And now, although Buffett is very clear, he accepts the plan given by Eric. It will maximize Berkshire Hathaway's interests, but it will bring unnecessary legal risks to both sides of the transaction, which has broken the bottom line that Buffett can bear: "Eric, I don't agree with your plan. ”

Eric was a little surprised, but Charlie Munger and Tom Murphy, who were very familiar with Buffett, did not look strange at all, and they both knew very well that Buffett was actually a somewhat overly cautious person in his bones.

After Buffett's words fell, the conference room fell silent.

But. Everyone else is aware of the implication of Buffett's last sentence, and Buffett disagrees with the plan given by Eric. But that didn't mean he rejected the deal, so everyone waited for him to continue.

Although Buffett still remains calm on the surface, he is very entangled in his heart, even the predicament of the Solomon brothers a few years ago did not make him so sad.

If you have absolute control of ABC. Although he was very excited to work with Firefly, it is likely that he had already rejected the deal. Because he is not a good bargainer, when he feels that something is out of control, Buffett usually decisively stops the matter in order not to let himself continue to waste energy. The same is true when investing in companies, and for companies that he can't control, Buffett usually doesn't dwell on them, but sells his shares.

The ABC situation is now out of his control, and even the influence he has accumulated over decades in the investment world is useless, because the rise of Firefly is more legendary than his personal fortune history. In addition to him and his old friends still insisting, many of ABC's major shareholders have fallen to the side of Fireflies.

Warren Buffett is well aware that if there is no agreement tonight, then with the covert support of Firefly, the group of ABC shareholders who have fallen to Firefly Pictures will facilitate the deal by initiating an extraordinary general meeting of shareholders.

Once the deal is brokered by other shareholders, then just as Eric proposed to abandon the 10% of the small shareholders, they can also come up with other plans to plunder Berkshire Hathaway and Tom Murphy, and in the end, even if their economic interests are secured, they will completely lose their influence on ABC and the combined company in the future.

And if the deal ultimately fails, the consequences are even more unpredictable. The size of the viewership in the United States is fixed, and the reason why ABC has been able to get the No. 1 TV market share in North America in recent years is not only because of its own stable operating conditions, but also because the other two major competitors, NBC and CBS, are in a downturn. Whatever Firefly takes over from either NBC and CBS in the future, it will pose a huge threat to ABC's position with Firefly's super content production advantage. GE has an absolute controlling stake in NBC, but management, backed by other shareholders, has made the company tumult, and if ABC's performance begins to decline as a result, the shareholders who are already dissatisfied with them will surely cause a bigger incident, which will affect the network's operations, creating a vicious circle.

There was silence in the conference room for five minutes, and everyone was patiently waiting for Buffett to make a final decision.

Finally, after a sigh, Buffett said softly: "In the future, I will probably regret today's decision." ”

This sentence rang out in the conference room, and everyone realized that Buffett had made a decision.

With a confident smile, Eric said, "Warren, I promise you that you will never regret your decision today. ”

Buffett didn't react much to Eric's words, but now that he has made up his mind. Warren Buffett no longer continued to dwell on some details, and simply agreed to a deal plan of 25% of Firefly's equity and $10 billion in cash.

After a simple glass of champagne to celebrate, Buffett and his party rejected Eric's invitation and left the Sunset Tower Hotel by car.

In the underground parking lot, watching Buffett's three-man car leave, Eric turned to Katzenberg and smiled, "Jeffrey." You will be the one to host the rest of the press conference. ”

Katzenberg knew that the acquisition of ABC would take his career to the next level, so he said excitedly: "Eric, do you want to hold a high-level meeting now to prepare?"

Eric tapped his watch: "You have to be considerate of other people's feelings, it's supposed to be a weekend, not to mention that it's already half past eight in the evening." ”

"Okay, then tomorrow," Katzenberg seemed completely unaware that it was Sunday, but Eric didn't stop it. Well, those executives don't scold themselves anyway.

Katzenberg hurried away to deal with the long-awaited reporters, while Eric and Jeffrey returned to the party laughing.

The news of Eric having champagne brought to the conference room had spread throughout the party, and the guests had already guessed the outcome of the matter, and everyone flocked to congratulate Eric when he appeared.

Although the final negotiation time was not long, Eric's mood was tense throughout the whole process, and Buffett did not want the deal to fail. The same goes for Eric, otherwise all the work Firefly has done in the early stages will be in vain. Everything has to start all over again.

Suddenly relaxed, tiredness followed, and after a brief meeting with the crowd, Eric sat down on the couch in the corner of the hall.

Seeing Penelope deliberately walk past him with two girls, Kate Beckinsale and Charlize Theron, Eric smiled and patted the sofa next to him, and Penelope walked over without hesitation. Smiling and sitting down next to Eric, seeing Eric sitting in the middle of the couch without the slightest intention of moving his position, the other two women looked at each other, and finally Charlize took the initiative to step forward and sat on Eric's left hand side. Kate sat down next to Charlize.

Penelope didn't pay attention to these small details, leaned on Eric slightly, and said with some excitement: "Eric, I went with Kate to try on the dress today, it's beautiful, do you want to take a look in advance?"

Somewhat confused, Eric asked, "Oscar dress?"

Penelope nodded: "I made a Belle Époque before I came to the U.S. and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, and I got an Oscar invitation. ”

Eric then understood that the promotion of "Breaking Bad" has begun, this should be the work done by MGM to promote "Breaking Bad", since Penelope will attend the Oscars because of "Belle Epoque", then Kate must rely on the Shakespeare comedy "Much Ado About Nothing", Eric remembers that this movie won nothing at the Oscars in the original time and space, and it seems that MGM has done a lot of work for "Breaking Bad". However, at this time, MGM's two helmsmen, one was a former Paramount executive and the other was a former head of production at Warner Pictures, and with their connections accumulated over the years, it was not difficult to run an inconsequential nomination for "Much Ado About Nothing" and then justifiably let Kate appear at the Oscars.

Thinking of this, Eric turned his head with some curiosity and asked Kate, "What is the nomination for Much Ado About Nothing?"

"Best costume and best soundtrack," Kate said with some embarrassment, although she had not been in Hollywood for a long time, she also knew that this time to attend the Oscars was completely unexpected.

Eric remembered what it was like when he participated in the Golden Globes in January, and said with a smile: "These two nominations are just right, and it would be very worthy of the name to win a single nomination for Best Picture without any major awards like the Golden Globes." ”

Listening to the three people talking about Oscar, a flash of loss flashed in Charlize's eyes.

Although he moved out of the apartment shared by the three of them, Penelope still maintained a good relationship with the two daughters according to Eric's request, although Charlize quickly picked up a glass of red wine to hide his expression, Penelope still noticed the change in Charlize's expression, so he said to Eric: "Eric, why don't you help Charlie get an Oscar invitation too, I think this will be an easy thing for you." ”

Eric glanced at Charlize, who was obviously expectant but reserved in his expression, and said, "There's no need, wait until next year when the three of you can attend the award ceremony together, and maybe be able to be the guest of honor at the same time." ”

Penelope didn't say anything more when he heard Eric refuse, but Charlize hung his head slightly in obvious disappointment.

Kate's eyes swirled between Eric and Charlize, and her eyebrows furrowed without a trace. She thought that Eric was definitely right, and that was definitely on purpose.

Eric, however, happened to notice the subtle change in Kate's expression, but he didn't mind what she saw, and with a smile still on his face, he suddenly asked Kate, "Have you been smoking lately?"

Kate was stunned for a moment, and immediately shook her head: "No, no." ”

"Hmm......" Eric dragged his voice, "Looks like it is." ”

Kate also realized that her weakness was too obvious, and hurriedly said: "If you want to deduct the salary, you can deduct me." ”

Eric smiled and said, "Actually, you can also pay for the two of them in private." ”

Kate stared at Eric's faint smile, and realized that Eric didn't mean it more seriously, so she followed Eric's tone and said, "Okay, then you can punish it, and I'll compensate the two of them in private." ”

Eric shrugged slightly, leaned back on the sofa relaxedly, took a sip of the red wine in his glass, and waved his hand: "You guys go play, I'll rest for a while." ”

Perhaps relieved, Kate heard Eric's words and said, "You really speak in a tone like an old man." ”

"Oh," Eric nodded, "Penny and Charlie, you go play, and Kate will stay with me for a while." ”

"Charlie, let's go dance," Penelope grinned as he got up and grabbed Charlize and walked towards the dance floor.

Eric looked at Kate, who was sitting in place, patted Charlize's position just now, and said, "Come here." ”

Kate moved in the opposite direction and said, "I, I'm just kidding, this is a public place, you can't mess around." ”

"In that case, what are you afraid of, come here!"

Kate's attitude is quite resolute: "I won't go!" (To be continued.) )