The Chaebol Who Flies From Space - Chapter 33



Only Noblemtl

33. Emma Brown (1)

Jamie threw a party every night, just as he promised.

It was not a noisy party with people drinking heavily and loud music filling the house, but a cocktail party where people invited friends and chatted lightly.

There were more people than I expected who spent time in Miami for a winter vacation. My close friend Valentina was the CEO of a small film production company in LA. My other friends were executives of famous fashion brands, staff members of fashion magazines, and professional women like doctors and lawyers.

He said that in the winter, they would gather at Miami Beach to relieve the stress that had built up and chat before heading back.

“If you want a loud party, go to Hollywood. There’s a party there all year long. It’s a lot of chaos with actors, producers, and aspiring actors. I don’t like loud parties, so I don’t go there unless I have to. These days, the film industry is really struggling because there’s no money in the market. Countless small film companies are going out of business.”

It was Valentina with a disgusted expression.

“It seems like the film market has shrunk a lot.”

“IT companies are collapsing, and the aftermath of Enron and WorldCom’s accounting scandals has spread to this point. It’s become incredibly difficult to secure money for movie production. Major production companies are also drastically reducing their production costs. Small producers like me are just sitting there doing nothing.”

Valentina complained of difficulties.

As we were talking, he found out that I was running a fairly large investment firm and asked me to invest money in the film he was making.

Jamie, who was listening to the story from the side, encouraged me.

“Yeah, you have a lot of money. Valentina is a capable producer who makes a lot of good movies even with small investments.”

I don’t know exactly how much money I have, but I told them that I own a large liquor company in Korea and export to China and Russia, so they pressured me to invest in the movie.

The reason I haven’t been paying attention to movies lately is because the market is small.

Even though the United States is the world’s largest film market and films made here are shown around the world, the profits gained are not large.

The director who made this film with Jamie this time had a box office record of $1.2 billion for his previous film. The production cost was over $200 million, and the remaining profits are divided among investors, production companies, distributors, and theaters.

Even if you invest, you won’t get much in return.

I laughed at Jamie’s pressure.

“You’re rich too. If the outlook is that good, you should invest.”

It is impossible to recommend a business that really makes money to others.

“I’m already invested.”

“Jamie is our company’s largest shareholder. Whenever we have difficulties, Jamie helps us a lot.”

“From an investor’s perspective, the film industry is too small and unprofitable. It would be much more interesting to acquire a film production company like Disney. I heard Disney is in shambles these days. They say it would have been difficult without Pixar.”

Every animated film Disney made was dying. The ones that were successful were all made by Pixar.

Disney did not have a good relationship with Pixar, which made hit movies. This was because they brought in the movie under ridiculous, one-sided conditions when Pixar, founded by Jobs, was on the verge of bankruptcy.

“Acquiring Disney? It would cost at least $10 billion.”

“If we take over, it will cost more than double that amount. No matter how much of a recession it is, Disney is Disney.”

My estimate for Disney’s fair acquisition price is $20 billion.

Anything beyond that is overpay.

“Is that even possible? How are you going to raise the funds?”

“I don’t have to have a lot of money to think about acquisitions. There are ways to create investment funds or raise funds for acquisitions through borrowing money.”

“That’s also a method that is basically possible only if you have the funds. Banks don’t lend money to scammers.”

“That’s true.”

I had no intention of taking over right now.

Disney is the most American of companies. If I were to take over, there would be such a fuss that the Japanese company Mitsubishi, which bought 80% of Rockefeller Center for $1.4 billion and got beaten up, would be nothing more than a joke.

They both thought I was just saying that and moved on.

The topic of the conversation soon shifted to college days.

“You’ve changed a lot, too. You used to run around like a boy in college. Do you know how surprised I was when I saw you come out of the dorm naked?”

“Me? That was because I was under a lot of stress at the time. I guess you got excited when you saw my naked body.”

A sinister smile appeared on Jamie’s face as he recalled stories from his college days that he had long since forgotten.

“I guess I forgot, but you’re an actress. Because of you, rumors spread that you two were dating, so I couldn’t leave the dorm for a while.”

“Why can’t I go outside?”

“Because the guys you liked were terrorizing me. Those guys were big guys, and they surrounded me and told me to break up, so I thought I’d give up. You remember Henry, too. Back in college, the quarterback, his gang was the biggest headache.

Henry Lagerfield was a football player at the same university. Although he was a quarterback, he was as big as a lineman.

“Oh! Looks like Henry’s gang was scared.”

“It’s scary. I held back because I didn’t want to bother cleaning up after beating up guys who weren’t even as big as a fist.”

Jamie snorted at my words.

“How dare you yell in front of a girl. You’re no match for her in size. I’ve never seen you fight since college.”

I found a street that wanted to tease me, so there was no way I could miss it.

“There was no reason to fight with those idiots back then. I’ll show you properly later.”

While Jamie and I were talking, Valentina handed me the script she had brought.

“This is a movie I’m making called ‘My Little Greek Wedding.’ Read it. It’s very interesting.”

I read the movie script Valentina gave me in my hotel room. As she said, it was quite interesting.

[It’s not bad. Since there are no famous actors, the production cost won’t be high. It’s also fun to watch a Greek spinster clash with other people to get married. At least it won’t be a failure.]

This was Ariel’s analysis, as she was more knowledgeable about box office than I was.

“How much should I invest?”

[I think around 20 million dollars would be enough. Valentina is probably planning to invest around that amount. Since it’s a small-scale film, it won’t take long to produce, and it could be released in theaters in the fall.]

“Twenty million dollars? That’s enough? Really? Why are you making that sound so difficult?”

This wasn’t even something to worry about.

By setting aside $100 million from the invested profits for the family fund, investment was possible at any time.

[Don’t the two of them really know how rich the Master is?]

“Even though I said I was the owner of the toad?”

[You’re American. Americans are either indifferent or not very knowledgeable about companies outside their own country. You can’t know how profitable a company is when it’s not even listed on the New York Stock Exchange.]

“Even though you said you were investing in Disney?”

[I guess you thought I was being rude in front of the girls.]

“Oh my! Was my trust really that great?”

[Not that, but the film industry where the two work is full of all kinds of scoundrels. If someone came to Master from the opposite position and told him that they were going to buy Disney, would the Master believe it? He would think he was a braggart or a swindler.]

“Yeah, you’re right.”

It was a story too grand to take out on vacation.

If I hadn’t known Jamie, I wouldn’t have had anything to say even if he accused me of being a conman.

“I’ll invest. Will $20 million be okay?”

When the decision was made, Valentina jumped for joy.

“You’re really investing in a movie?”

“I told you I was rich.”

By following Jamie on his winter break and connecting him with investors, Valentina had hit the jackpot.

“Just how rich are you?”

“Jamie, do you know about Zaibatsu?”

“I’m a woman who graduated from New York University’s business school. Of course, I learned it in class, but remember, it’s a Japanese conglomerate.”

The prototype of the Korean conglomerate is Japan’s Zaibatsu.

“There is something similar in Korea, and I am that one.”

It was much easier for her to understand than for me to explain in detail the value of the company I own.

“Oh my god, Zaibatsu is my friend!”

Jamie pretended to be impressed by what I said, but it didn’t feel sincere at all.

“There’s no need to pretend to be touched. You don’t care about that kind of thing.”

“That’s Jamie from college days, you know nothing. Forget it.”

“Really?”

“There’s no need to be serious. Lately, there have been a lot of things I wish I had more money for.”

“Are you having a hard time?”

He achieved world-class fame as an actor from a young age. Jamie laughed bitterly when I didn’t understand.

“There’s such a thing as vested interests. Hollywood is also full of veterans. You have to let it go even if you hear strange things.”

“It must have been hard to just let it go because of your temper.”

“More or less.”

There were many things that could be guessed without going into detail.

The funds for the film Valentina is producing are to be contracted and transferred as soon as the winter holidays are over.

Those who gathered at Jamie’s party were delighted to meet investors, but I also gained a lot.

Things that had been planned piecemeal until then became clearer as I talked to them.

The main topics of conversation at the meeting were LVMH and PPR.

They would rather use that money to buy company stock than buy a Louis Vuitton bag.

LVMH is a luxury empire built by Chairman Arnault.

He acquired Dior, which was struggling with an old brand image, and revived it, then created an empire by successively acquiring Louis Vuitton, the champagne maker Moët & Chandon, and the cognac maker Hennessy.

The next company on the scale was PPR, which had grown into the largest retailer in France with department stores such as Pnac, Printemps, and Conforama, and acquired Gucci, emerging as a rival to LVMH. Recently, Gucci completed the acquisition of Yves Saint Laurent, another large fashion total brand, and the luxury perfume brand Fendi.

Emma, ​​who runs a fashion business in New York, was particularly negative about the consolidation of European luxury brands.

“It’s not bad, is it? Yves Saint Laurent and Gucci were struggling because of their old brand image. They were going downhill because they were seen as clothes that their mothers wore to young people.

“A company that has been founded cannot help but seriously consider whether it will be sustainable when its founder dies.”

“That may be true from a business standpoint. But in the creative realm, your unique identity disappears.”

“That can’t be helped.”

“That’s why I don’t like it. I wish someone would step forward and stop this ridiculous trend.”

Emma was drunk and grabbed me and started complaining.

Her friends helped her up and carried her to the bedroom.

“I understand, Emma’s been having a bit of a headache lately with the takeover issue.”

“Acquisition issue? Who wants to buy the company?”

“The brand Emma created was quite popular among young Americans. It’s no wonder that luxury companies are drooling over it. It seems like LVMH is pressuring her to hand over the company.”

“Why don’t you just not let it go?”

“It’s a problem because it’s hard to hold on. It seems like the money we spent on expanding the business is the problem.”

When things are going well, problems do not appear, but when the flow of funds is blocked like now,

Even successful companies are bound to experience difficulties.

“What is the name of the company that LVMH is after?”

“Didn’t I tell you? Emma Brown. She started a company named after herself.”

Emma Brown is an American fashion brand that has gained explosive popularity among young people.

Even I, who am not interested in fashion, have heard the name.

It’s understandable why LVMH is drooling.