The American Entertainment Software Rating Board started its preparation. They called it ESRB for short.
This time, no one had anything peculiar to say. The standards were made public, aligning closely with movie standards. The difference was the strict standards for shooting games.
The stricter review standards eliminated the department's liability if companies did whatever they wanted.
The ESRB was highly efficient and began consulting the public. If the public was dissatisfied, ESRB would adjust the clauses accordingly.
I gotta say, there's not many responsible committees like this.
...
William White was a bit carefree, having relentlessly shorted several rounds in the stock market.
"Boss, aside from heavily investing in tech stocks, they're also buying loads of Coca-Cola shares. Pepsi Group intervened as well, though not in large quantities."
"Have they closed their short positions?"
"It's already finished, with projected losses of over 50 million dollars."
"50 million dollars? Sigh, the damage he caused is hundreds of millions."
"Boss, it's terrifying. Wall Street is on edge, and no one knows what he's up to."
"Hmph, what else could it be? Just intimidation, seeing who dares to wrestle with a madman."
Going down with the enemy is bewildering, unless you're also willing to ignore losses, then there's no real counter.
Thankfully, it seemed the guy had enough fun and started building massive positions. Many stocks surpassed 5%, and soon White Fund would appear on multiple boards.
With such grand purchases, was he really not going to acquire Disney? The American economic crisis hadn't bottomed out yet, that was consensus on Wall Street.
"Boss, it looks like they've finished building their positions. They're probably out of spare funds."
"Mainly small companies, yeah, keep an eye on them."
Wall Street's fund managers wouldn't follow the trend. In their eyes, William White was bound to play himself out. Proper investment is gradual, not this child's play level.
They were sure, the folks at White Fund weren't amateurs like this. They moved in the same circles, so this kind of operation left one explanation -- this was William White's decision.
Even if they scoffed, they dared not grumble too much. The guy was rich -- what did they have to complain about?
William White was genuinely wealthy. His latest film, Beverly Hills Cop, grossed just 50 million dollars less than Star Wars.
Sure, that was the North American box office; internationally, the gap was bigger. Still, what's the difference? It pulled in a tidy profit, with production costs less than 30% of Star Wars. Who's more lucrative is obvious.
It was no wonder people were eyeing him. His ability to generate money was frightening. His ventures comfortably raked in two to three hundred million each year for him personally.
The most annoying part? Those juicy profits were all personal.
Apple boasting a three hundred million sale yearly was a big deal, but this guy was actually earning that. The disparity couldn't be measured with logic.
[T/N: If you feel there is something missing, it is because I removed small part of the flow. Because he was earning so much money while others were failing, they made some moves in the media. I mostly hinted at this part.
This made the MC angry and sent his security forces to install mortars in many bigwigs houses and made sure they were caught on camera while leaving as a warning. And everyone backed off. This part I removed because this made no sense to me.]
...
While those Wall Street elites were grumbling, William White's company officially launched Series A funding.
This was sincere, not only were the software and gaming companies seeking funds, even the comics company was starting funding projects.
Each sold 15%, highest bidder wins.
Why raise funds so early? Wait for the company to grow and cash out in an IPO, right? That wouldn't work. It's all about sharing the profits, otherwise, why do you think Google went public?
You can't keep the earnings to yourself. If it wasn't for the film company acquisition plans, they'd be raising funds too.
Moreover, the cost of capital was exorbitant now, with interest rates at an unbelievable 20%.
Constantly borrowing from Japan was a hassle. Of course, they realized the potential appreciation of yen. You didn't want to borrow in yen. In small amounts it was fine, but too big and even Japanese banks couldn't handle it.
With such steep interest rate differences, you think only William White knew to borrow from Japan? Many American firms were on to this.
Too bad, this benefit was for multinational companies. Farmers could forget it; no one's interested in your cattle and farms.
...
Now it was investment banks' turn to fret.
Looking for cheap shares? Dream on, haven't you seen Tokyo and London brokers all eager to get in?
They made it clear they wouldn't only list on the New York Stock Exchange; maybe not in Tokyo either, but definitely London, that was already a done deal.
How to value it was a headache.
500 million dollars?
Tough luck getting that deal.
What the heck, such a small market cap and dual listings?
"One billion? Are the Japanese nuts? How could it be worth so much?"
"Boss, that's the price for the comics company. The gaming company is valued at 1.2 billion. Judging by their stance, this isn't the final price."
"No, no, something's off, there's definitely something we're missing. Investigate right away."
Of course there was info they didn't know. The Japanese not only knew he invested in toy factories; they were also watching video game consoles closely.
To them, it was a goldmine. Not acting fast would result in lifelong regret.
They knew well how profitable Japan's three gaming console makers were.
Sure, there were savvy people who easily understood William White's motive. But so what? Even knowing the poison in the wine, would you refuse?
The answer was no.
It might be a slow poison, but if you don't drink it, you might die of thirst in the desert.
Die now or maybe die later -- easy choice.
...
"Hmph, those little guys do have insight. Filson, what's with those geezers, have they all rotted away?"
"Boss, if you showed them the plan, they'd definitely choose differently."
"Ha, if I showed them first, the outcome wouldn't be the same. Relax, with such huge price gaps, they'll dig for the reasons. Just keep squeezing the toothpaste slowly."
Filson couldn't help but sigh; the boss had endless tricks. Those old guys would surely be exasperated!
*****
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