At the Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan.
It's April 9th. After spending an extra week in Paris, Simon and Janet flew back to New York yesterday and resumed work today.
Cersei Capital's headquarters is not located in the financial district downtown but in the Rockefeller Center at 1230 Avenue, with each of its three subsidiaries occupying a floor.
Compared to work, Janet places more importance on their life together.
Therefore, unless necessary, she plans to work only three days a week, each day dedicated to one of the subsidiaries. Even on work days, she often stays with Simon in Los Angeles.
Wall Street is filled with workaholics, but there are also those who work less yet achieve great success.
During the acquisition of Blackstone Financial Management from the Blackstone Group, Simon discovered that John Gray, head of Blackstone's real estate investment division, works only 40 days a year, yet holds a 20% stake in the partnership and lives away from New York in Chicago.
The key to achieving this kind of work-life balance is choosing the right team.
This is what Janet has been focusing on in the two months before their wedding.
The team at Cersei Fund Management has been honed over a year and is the most reliable. Apollo Management and BlackRock Financial Management, led by Leon Black and Laurence Fink, are also highly dependable, especially with Simon's foresight in oversight.
Inside the main conference room of Cersei Capital.
The meeting about Laurence Fink's team's investment plan for the new quarter lasted two and a half hours and was nearing noon by the time it ended.
Simon sat patiently by Janet's side throughout the meeting.
Laurence Fink was eager for Simon to share his insights during the meeting. However, Simon, who theoretically holds more sway than Janet, remained silent, making Fink all the more puzzled.
Sometimes Fink thought Simon might not understand the asset management industry; other times, he considered that despite his brief career span, a young man who had amassed such wealth in just over three years could not be underestimated.
In reality, Simon was merely trying to be a hands-off manager.
There was another meeting scheduled with the Apollo Management team in the afternoon. After the meeting, everyone headed to a restaurant in the building for lunch.
In the hallway, as the elevator doors opened, Simon saw Wayne Huizenga, the chairman of Blockbuster, and Leon Black also inside.
After greetings, they joined together casually.
During the chat, Simon learned that Wayne Huizenga was here concerning a recent acquisition by Blockbuster.
After its IPO, Blockbuster announced an acquisition of the Baltimore-based video rental chain, Errol Video, to boost its stock price.
Initially, the acquisition was set at $40 million.
However, Nancy Brill, reviewing Errol's financials, found discrepancies and hired the newly formed Apollo Management team to re-evaluate the acquisition.
Mergers and acquisitions consultancy is also part of Apollo Management's services, with their biggest project being Daenerys Entertainment's planned acquisition of MCA.
After taking on this relatively small acquisition, Leon Black's team quickly discovered over $8 million in hidden debt at Errol Video.
A $40 million purchase price was already somewhat high relative to Errol's scale and debt.
With the additional hidden debt revealed, Blockbuster immediately halted the acquisition to renegotiate with Errol's management team.
Video rental is a capital-intensive industry. Although Errol's scale couldn't compare to Blockbuster's, its expansion heavily relied on borrowing. If the acquisition fell through, Errol, which hadn't achieved scale benefits, was likely to go bankrupt.
Therefore, the final deal price could potentially be pushed down to $30 million.
Back in Los Angeles, Nancy Brill also discussed this matter with Simon.
However, Nancy blamed Wayne Huizenga for the oversight. If she hadn't reviewed the acquisition at the last minute, Blockbuster might have incurred additional losses. This clearly reflected a lapse in Huizenga's responsibilities as chairman and CEO.
After Blockbuster's IPO, due to the further dilution of the founders' shares, Daenerys Entertainment, holding 35%, effectively controlled the company.
Nancy had long been dissatisfied with Huizenga's capabilities. Using this opportunity, she proposed selecting a new CEO for Blockbuster and dividing Huizenga's powers.
"The core operational philosophy of Blockbuster is to continue improving efficiency and reducing costs while expanding, to gain stronger competitiveness in the industry. I agree with finding a new CEO. However, since Blockbuster has just gone public, I don't want to see any instability inside the company. You handle this with Huizenga. Also, the new CEO cannot change the operating strategy arbitrarily against Blockbuster's philosophy."
Inside Daenerys Studios in Malibu.
Daenerys Entertainment's various teams are set to move in next month. Simon visited this morning to inspect the nearly completed renovations, and Nancy came from Santa Monica.
"Of course,
I understand. That's also my issue with Wayne," Nancy agreed. "He can't see clearly the next steps for Blockbuster. He even discussed with me about buying a cable operator to venture into cable television. Blockbuster hasn't even perfected its video rental model, and venturing into cable TV now is just reckless."
As Simon and Nancy walked from the administrative area to the next office block, Simon asked, "If Daenerys Entertainment were to expand into cable television, do you think that would be a good idea?"
"Cable television network or cable operator?" Nancy asked.
The distinction between a cable television network and a cable operator is significant. However, due to deregulation by the Reagan administration years ago, many cable operators began venturing into the television business, like Time Warner, which owns both Warner Cable for operations and HBO as a cable channel.
Operating both content and distribution channels is clearly the best way to avoid being throttled by others but can also easily distract the management team.
In this respect, companies like Disney and Time Warner in the original timeline are classic examples.
Disney focused on content and never ventured into channel operations, yet its ESPN is one of the highest-earning basic cable channels.
Time Warner managed both channels and content, with successful entities like CNN and HBO, although these were acquired. Warner Cable, despite holding a significant market share, could never quite compete with rivals like Comcast.
Hearing Nancy's question, Simon simply said, "Television network."
"That's a good idea," Nancy nodded. "However, no extra effort is needed. Once we acquire MCA, we will have our cable network."
Simon showed no particular reaction to Nancy's casual mention of the Daenerys Entertainment's acquisition of MCA, then asked, "Why oppose Blockbuster's foray into cable TV but support Daenerys's expansion in that area?"
Nancy was somewhat annoyed by Simon's probing. Such a simple question shouldn't even need asking: "Because video rental and cable TV businesses do not complement each other."
Strictly speaking, video rentals and cable TV are competitors.
Blockbuster's entry into cable TV would not help promote its video rental business but would instead distract the management team.
However, this isn't an issue for Daenerys Entertainment.
Diversified horizontal integration is a major trend in the media sector, and venturing into cable TV would maximize the content advantages of Daenerys Entertainment.
Speaking of which, after Daenerys Entertainment held firm on "The Beverly Hillwives," CBS confirmed they would not renew the show.
Under the original agreement, unless CBS voluntarily dropped it, Daenerys Entertainment could not sell the reality show to another network.
Now, Daenerys Entertainment has fully regained control of this project.
CBS was confident; "The Beverly Hillwives" had unimpressive ratings, and the major networks generally shared interests against content providers. CBS believed that if they dropped the project, ABC, NBC, and FOX wouldn't pick it up, and Daenerys Entertainment could only sell the series to a lesser basic cable channel, which obviously meant a lower price.
However, CBS couldn't foresee Simon's specific plans.
Once the acquisition of MCA is completed, moving "The Beverly Hillwives" to MCA's USA Network could not only escape the earnings of public networks but could also expand the Hillwives series, create a brand, and enhance the value of USA Network—a win on multiple fronts.
Daenerys Studios is close to Point Dume, and Simon walked around the studios until noon before heading home for lunch.
Back at home, Janet wasn't the only one present; Catherine had also come over, and the two women were serving lunch in the dining room.
"Point Break" was about to start filming in Los Angeles, and Catherine had come to the West Coast for the project.
Catherine was naturally invited to last month's wedding. However, due to the busyness of the event, Simon hadn't had a chance to interact much with her.
Though they could not return to the past, sitting down in the dining room still carried a strangely harmonious feeling.
After discussing "Point Break" for a bit, Simon asked Catherine about another project, "Thelma & Louise," and how she felt about it.
Catherine, serving mushroom soup to everyone, noncommittally nodded and said, "It's a very good script."
Simon smiled, "So, are you taking it or not?"
Janet also chimed in, "Kate, just take it. I think we could both star in it."
Simon couldn't help but measure up the two women, suddenly noticing how similar they were to the original Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis, then looked at Janet and asked, "Do you know what I'm talking about?"
Janet rolled her eyes at Simon, "I've read the script, of course, I know."
Simon curiously asked, "When did you read it?"
"None of your business."
"Okay, but it's a story about two women rebelling against male
dominance, do you think you two are suitable for it?"
"Absolutely."
"Then someone might think I'm mistreating you."
Catherine placed a bowl of cream of mushroom soup in front of Simon and scolded, "Just mistreat Janet, don't drag me into it."
"What do you mean 'just mistreat me'? Kate, I didn't realize you were so vicious, just like the Evil Queen."
Simon took a sip of his soup with a smile and nodded, "Snow White and the Evil Queen, that would be a good play."
Catherine didn't catch on.
Janet, however, tossed a piece of bread at him, "You little rascal."
Catherine looked puzzled for a moment, then blushed as she understood, glaring at Simon.
Simon, thick-skinned, pretended he hadn't said anything and continued, "So, Catherine, this project is really tailored for you. Imagine, the desert, the setting sun, two women surrounded by police refusing to compromise, driving together towards the cliff—what a stunning scene."
Before Catherine could answer, Janet asked, "Why do they have to die in the end?"
"Isn't death their best destination? Or, do you want them to end up like Warren Beatty's 'Bonnie and Clyde,' riddled with bullets?"
"I mean, why can't it be about two women who beat the police and then escape to Mexico together?" Janet retorted, sounding dissatisfied, and huffed, "So, it's still a male-dominated movie. I bet if the protagonists were two men, they'd definitely fight their way through and heroically rush into Mexico."
Hearing Janet emphatically bite down on the word 'heroes,' Simon thought for a moment and said, "Actually, that might not be a bad way to shoot it."
"Hmm?"
Simon looked at Janet and smiled, "You should know, I'm a feminist."
"Ha, I'm a masculinist."
"So, we're a well-matched pair, aren't we?"
Joking aside, Simon then turned to Catherine.
Catherine methodically spread caviar on her bread and said, "I think Janet's suggestion is good, let Louise and Thelma escape to Mexico instead of going over the cliff. Why should we women always have to die for our mistakes?"
"Only disappointment can create the biggest impact on the audience, right? In 'Point Break,' didn't Bodhi die in the end?"
Janet quickly retorted, "Humph, chauvinist!"
Catherine added, "The two films convey different messages. I want Louise and Thelma to live."
Simon considered this, "In that case, some of the plot would need to be rewritten."
Catherine confidently said, "I have time."
Simon added, "And, the box office might not be very good."
Janet replied, "Do you really need more money?"
"I'm not one to turn it down."
"I'll hit you."
Simon dodged Janet's playful swipe and compromised, "Alright, at least this arrangement might allow for a sequel."
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