"He only has himself to blame." Li He had expected Pang Xiujie's ending, but he didn't expect it to be so tragic. Pang Xiujie was penniless. No matter how stupid he was, he wouldn't be cheated out of everything he had. "He can't blame anyone."
Su Ming said, "Exactly. It's a pity that he lost a good hand."
When it was time to eat, the men sat at one table, while the women with their children sat at another table. However, Li Zhaokun was an exception. He sat at the women's table. Initially, he was unwilling to do so, but his daughter and wife forcefully stopped him. They were afraid that he wouldn't be able to control his drinking. His body really couldn't allow him to drink too much.
While Li He and the others were drinking, Song Gu brought in a big plate of barbecued meat and fish. He smiled and said, "The fish is fresh. I caught it in the lake behind. Have a taste."
He and Qiu Liang set up a barbecue stove by the lake and entertained Lu Bo, Su Ming, and the others' chauffeurs and secretaries.
Lu Bo rolled up his sleeves and took one. He smiled and said, "You guys are living a better life than us. I'm so jealous."
Song Gu said, "Boss Lu, don't laugh at us. Drink slowly. If you don't have anything important to do, I'll grab Secretary Yu and drink as much as I can."
Li He said, "If you can get Yu Deyao drunk, I'll remember it."
Yu Deyao wasn't only Lu Bo's secretary, but he was also his trump card. Even Dong Hao would be impressed by his alcohol tolerance.
"Let's do it." Lu Bo was confident in Yu Deyao's alcohol tolerance.
"Yes, sir." Song Gu ran out.
Halfway through the wine, Lu Bo talked about Sang Yongbo and Sang Yongyang. "These two brothers are purposely going against me. They used to run small supermarkets and convenience stores, but now they suddenly switched to large supermarkets. So be it. The market is huge anyway, so there's no need for conflict. But these two brothers recently opened a large supermarket near Red Scarf Park. It's less than a kilometer away from Four Seasons Supermarket. They started a discount event and attracted a lot of customers. If you say you don't know them, then we'll fight for real, but …"
They were all from the same village as Second Elder Li. If he were to be too harsh, it would be embarrassing for both of them. It would be like slapping Second Elder Li's face!
He spoke the truth and had no intention of hiding anything. He understood Li He's personality. The more he tried to hide something, the more annoyed Li He would be. It would make him seem like he couldn't see anyone. Instead of that, it was better to be honest.
Li He thought for a moment and said, "Actually, I know about his supermarket. It was originally a farmer's market, but because the company that ran it owed Pan Guangcai, they didn't have the money to pay him back, so they gave it to Pan Guangcai. Pan Guangcai didn't have any real assets, so it was useless for him to keep it, so he gave it to the Sang brothers. The Sang brothers only knew how to run supermarkets aside from driving, so they rebuilt it into a large-scale supermarket.
I'll call them over when I have time. You guys can talk together. "
Lu Bo said, "If it doesn't work out, I'll transfer the Red Scarf Park store to them. Otherwise, no one will survive if they stay together."
"It's not easy to run supermarkets now. The rent is so high, and the net profit is getting lower and lower." Li Kuo clinked glasses with Su Ming and smiled. "Luckily, I bought all the storefronts. Otherwise, I wouldn't even be able to afford the rent."
"Don't act like you're the victim," Lu Bo teased. "You're running a community supermarket. How much can the rent be? I even went to Japan and Hong Kong to investigate. In the future, your operations will need to be more refined and in line with international standards."
"You're right. It's hard to run a business if you don't save money," Li Kuo continued. "If I can't survive in a first-tier city, I'll move to a second-tier or third-tier city."
Li He said, "I don't want to interfere in your business."
He could hear the resentment in Lu Bo's voice.
"But," he continued in a deep voice, "People … sigh … are like this."
Everyone understood what Li He meant, but no one dared to say anything.
"Come on, let's drink." Su Ming couldn't stand the heavy atmosphere. He said to Li He, "Brother, do you know about MGM?"
"You're going to acquire it again?" Li He asked.
MGM, founded in 1924, was one of the most prestigious film companies in Hollywood. It produced one of the most outstanding films in the history of film, "Gone with the Wind", created an enduring classic, "007", created an immortal cartoon character, "Tom and Jerry", initiated the establishment of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and introduced the Academy of Motion Picture Awards …
One had to know that any one of the above achievements could make the company immortal, not to mention the combination of a few legends.
MGM's "Leo the Lion" was once the symbol of America. It had many superstars under its banner, and it had created a legend of releasing a movie every week. It was also the symbol of American movies and Hollywood. The names of movie stars under its banner, Charlton Heston, Greta Garbo, Clark Gable, Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant, still shone brightly today.
The films produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer had won 170 Academy Awards so far, leading all the major Hollywood film companies.
Su Ming nodded. "Yes, this legendary film giant had 2 billion US dollars of debt in 2005, and it was acquired by a consortium formed by Sony for nearly 5 billion US dollars.
At that time, Sony hoped that MGM's huge library could increase the content of its Blu-ray DVD, but although Blu-ray beat Toshiba's HD in the battle of HD DVD standards, it couldn't be considered a success.
After the acquisition, MGM also tried to develop in other areas, such as forming a joint venture with CNBC Asia Pacific, launching a movie satellite channel, etc. But it was too late to enter the market, and its business was too scattered. Before it could do anything, the company was on the verge of bankruptcy. "
"Didn't you just acquire Worldwide?" Unless Li He didn't read the newspapers, this kind of news that could be listed in the world's top ten acquisitions couldn't be hidden from him. "It's too big of a step."
"Opportunity knocks but it won't come again," Su Ming said seriously. "In four years, MGM's debt has doubled. Even after hiring Stephen Cooper, who is good at debt restructuring, as CEO last year, the company's debt situation has not improved.
MGM's creditors are calling the shots now.
Including Anchorage
And Highland
Management and other hedge fund companies are the main creditors of MGM's huge debt. Eight months ago, they bought MGM's debt at 50 to 60 cents per US dollar. This means that MGM must be sold for 2 billion US dollars before the creditors can recover their investment.
This price is more than half of what Sony paid for the company. But since MGM expressed its intention to sell the company last November, the highest offer was only 1.5 billion US dollars.
This is Time Warner's offer. "
Li He raised his eyebrows. "That's cheap."
"Then?"
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