Beverly Hills, outside a small villa.
The owner of the villa, Wilson, opened the mailbox, took out a few letters, and walked back while reading. After entering the living room, he picked out one letter and began reading it carefully.
It was the latest Nasdaq analysis from this morning.
Three days ago, a friend introduced a investment manager from Merrill Lynch Securities, who came to visit him specifically to discuss Nasdaq and internet stocks, which he found quite speculative.
To be precise, his views were quite similar to those of the investment manager. Both believed that the future prospects of Nasdaq in the coming years were limitless.
Afterwards, the investment manager would send the latest market details every day.
Seeing the internet quality stocks rising rapidly every day, Wilson felt a pang of regret.
Originally, all his liquid funds had been invested in the Nasdaq stock market, but now he regretted not investing more.
He should have invested more.
The phone rang at this moment, Wilson answered, and heard a somewhat familiar voice on the other end.
"Hello, Mr. Wilson, this is Scott, did you receive the materials I sent this morning?"
Wilson looked down and said, "Yes, I did."
The service was very attentive.
The voice continued, "If you need anything, feel free to contact me anytime."
Wilson nodded slightly, "Got it."
He had his own investment advisor, but in terms of professional ability and analysis of Nasdaq, he felt that Scott was superior.
There was also a difference in service.
After hanging up the phone and looking at the market analysis and the latest trends of the star stocks on the materials, Wilson felt that he couldn't hesitate anymore.
Hesitating further would mean missing out on the best opportunity.
In the afternoon, just after the stock market closed, the investment manager Scott came to visit again.
Wilson was well aware that Scott was interested in his wealthy status and investment capabilities, but this kind of investment was mutually beneficial.
Moreover, Scott's analysis of Nasdaq was indeed very professional.
Just like the last time they met, the two of them talked happily until evening.
When Scott left, he said specifically, "Mr. Wilson, do you know Julian Robertson?"
Wilson, who was not a newcomer to the stock market, of course had heard of this financial investment guru, and nodded, saying, "The founder and manager of Tiger Fund."
Scott said solemnly, "I just received news, just last week, Julian Robertson sold off the traditional industrial stocks held by Tiger Fund and instead bought a large amount of shares of internet companies."
"How is that possible?" Wilson was quite shocked.
Julian Robertson had been talking about the Nasdaq internet bubble for a long time, and even publicly criticized internet stocks on TV. His Tiger Fund had also bought a large number of stocks of traditional industrial enterprises.
Scott continued, "The news just came out, you can check it online."
Thinking that Ronan only wanted him to indirectly influence Wilson and strengthen his confidence in investing in Nasdaq, Scott didn't say much more and took his leave.
After seeing off the guest, Wilson came back and specifically checked online. Scott was right, even the most famous anti-internet stock investor in the investment world had invested in internet stocks.
The market outlook was very good, and even if there were problems, it would probably take a few years. By then, someone would definitely take over.
Wilson picked up the phone and dialed two numbers in succession.
"Parker, let's meet tonight."
"Neil, I've already made an appointment with Parker. We'll meet at the old cafe in an hour."
Less than an hour later, the three of them gathered in an old-fashioned café.
"Have you guys heard?" Wilson didn't beat around the bush, "Julian Robertson has abandoned traditional industrial stocks and invested in internet stocks."
Neil was younger than Wilson, and asked, "The helmsman of Tiger Fund, that investment tycoon?"
"It's him." Parker took a sip of coffee, "He used to be a staunch opponent of internet stocks, why the sudden change?"
Wilson snorted and said, "What else could it be? Because internet stocks are profitable! And the profits are huge."
The other two thought about it, besides this answer, they couldn't find any other reasonable explanation.
With a sigh, Parker said, "We can't wait any longer."
Wilson nodded heavily, "The stocks we bought before have risen a lot. If we had acted decisively last year, the profits would have been much higher."
Neil frowned, "Should we really do this?"
Wilson continued, "We took over Embassy Pictures at the end of the 1980s, and it's been ten years now. How much profit have we made in the past ten years? Not even as much as the profits we made from buying internet stocks last year! I'm tired of the industrial sector. It's too slow to make money."
Parker agreed, "Although financial securities involve high risks, the situation in Nasdaq can be maintained for a few years. By then, we'll have more funds in our hands to return to the industrial sector."
Neil closed his eyes. In the past year, he had heard and seen too many examples of trying hard to do business in the industry for ten years, only to find out that investing in internet stocks for a year was more profitable.
Thinking that even Julian Robertson had switched to investing in internet stocks, Wilson said, "Opportunities like this don't come often."
He emphasized, "The most valuable asset in our hands is the shares of Embassy Pictures, but the profits from these shares are too low. According to the bank's evaluation, if we mortgage them, we'll get too little in loans. The biggest value of the distribution company lies in Hollywood. And now someone is willing to take over."
"Are you talking about Sand Sea Entertainment that we've been in contact with?" Parker asked.
Wilson nodded, "Sand Sea Entertainment has just had a huge success with its last movie and wants to enter the distribution industry."
Neil also made a decision, "Let's continue to contact Sand Sea Entertainment. If their offer is suitable..."
Wilson was quite confident, "There aren't many companies like ours with a complete distribution system."
That was the source of Wilson's confidence.
On the same night, Ronan met with Garcia, the representative of Embassy Pictures' management.
"The fate of the company is not really decided by the management, Mr. Anderson," Garcia, a middle-aged Latin American man with an ordinary appearance, said, "Since you've been in touch with the major shareholders, you must know that they hold ninety percent of the shares."
Ronan smiled and said, "I hope the management of Embassy Pictures won't oppose the acquisition by Sand Sea Entertainment."
The management of Embassy Pictures held ten percent of the shares. If they collectively opposed the acquisition by Sand Sea Entertainment, it would be very troublesome.
But Garcia remained silent.
"The current business of Embassy Pictures is to purchase films at low prices from overseas and then distribute them in North America," Ronan continued, not in a hurry, "Isn't that right?"
Garcia nodded, "Doing so can effectively mitigate risks."
Ronan first agreed, "There are too many film companies or directors from overseas who want to break into the world's number one film market. They are willing to sell the North American copyright for a low price. North American film distributors often can acquire films from overseas at extremely low prices. Even if the box office income is low when pushed into North American theaters, there are still profits to be made from later video tapes and the emerging disc market."
Garcia did not deny, "Mr. Anderson knows very detailed information."
Ronan continued to ask, "How much profit can this model make? There's hardly any chance to distribute large and medium-sized films! Garcia, as far as I know, you've been in Hollywood for more than fifteen years, and you've been in film distribution for five years. Haven't you thought about distributing movies with a budget of over ten million dollars? Don't you want to create hundred-million-dollar box office miracles?"
"Anybody in the distribution business would have such thoughts, and I'm no exception," Garcia appeared quite calm, "But wanting to do something and actually doing it are different."
Ronan said calmly, "Sand Sea Entertainment has sufficient financial support. Currently, we are producing two films with a total budget of 40 million dollars, one of which is the new work of James Huang, the director who created the box office miracle of 'The Purge'. These two films will enter the distribution stage in at most a year."
"In the future, Sand Sea Entertainment will produce even bigger-budget films, and may even venture into top-tier productions with a budget of over a hundred million dollars."
Garcia was somewhat tempted, but remained silent.
Ronan knew that merely talking about the future and ideals was not enough. The management of Embassy Pictures must have concerns.