Chapter 117

2000, September 25. Abel returns to Texas, Today is only Thursday. That day, he met a guest at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Houston. This guest's name is Isaac Perlmutter. According to the original itinerary, Abel met Isaac Perlmutter at Smith Capital in New York. But he never returned, and Isaac Perlmutter rushed to New York early again. Forced to do so, at David Mellon's request. Isaac Perlmutter left New York and ran to Texas to find Abel. There are many reasons why Isaac Perlmutter had to act so urgently and proactively. First, because the company that Isaac Perlmutter runs today was on the brink of bankruptcy in 1997. It's true that he was rescued and returned, but for this company, the situation hasn't improved much. It is always on the brink of bankruptcy or insolvency. However, as the general manager of this company. Isaac Perlmutter is looking for new investors and wants to inject new capital into the company. In recent years, Isaac Perlmutter has found too much capital and attracted the attention of entrepreneurs. But these people are either too harsh or don't care at all. Or they want key corporate assets but don't want to take over a losing company. This is something that Isaac Perlmutter and the company's leadership cannot accept. For a long time, Isaac Perlmutter could only work hard to run the company and continue to look for new investors in the market. As an investment businessman, Isaac Perlmutter understands Wall Street very well. After learning that the Wolf of Wall Street was interested in the company. He couldn't wait to come. He also knew that this wolf of Wall Street was also the chairman of CAA. This identity has deep ties to another senior executive in the company, one of the plans for the company's future. It made him work hard, from Los Angeles to New York. From New York, I found Houston, Texas. Just to see Abel. This is one of the reasons, This is first of all the main reason why Isaac Perlmutter wanted to meet Abel. But now, This primary reason has become a secondary factor. Isaac Perlmutter's urgent visit to Abel is another matter. That is, Isaac Perlmutter is not just the chairman of the board of directors of this company called "Marvel". He is also a venture capitalist famous for his caution. It's just that no matter how careful a businessman is, he will always encounter recession or bad luck. Recently his luck has been a bit bad. Shares of some listed companies he bought all fell. Some of the startups he invested in with venture capital were also attacked by competitors. In addition to Marvel's difficult situation, their own investments and financial situation are also dire. This forced him to seek additional capital to save Marvel or. himself. Luckily, Abel was very interested in Isaac Perlmutter, and it must be said that he was very interested in the company behind him. With Isaac Perlmutter delivering it himself. He chose to meet the other person. The place he met was the Four Seasons hotel where he had stayed with Liv Tyler two days before. Liv Tyler has now been temporarily placed by him on a property he just purchased in Houston. So he wasn't at the hotel and he didn't bring her here to meet Isaac Perlmutter. Four Seasons Hotel, restaurant. Abel is sitting with Isaac Perlmutter. Isaac Perlmutter is a white man in his forties. Normal appearance, the type that dozens of people might encounter while searching on the street. "Good afternoon, Mr. Smith." Isaac Perlmutter, who sat across from him, had a very good attitude. It's nice for other people to see and know that this guy is asking for something. "Good afternoon, Mr. Perlmutter." Abel responded with a smile. "I" Isaac Perlmutter stood up a little straighter and was about to say something polite. was captured by Abel. Abel raised his hand and said: "Mr. Perlmutter, I know why you're here. I'm also very interested in Marvel. When I was a kid, Spider-Man, X-Men and Wolverine were all heroes in my mind." "I now have Peter Parker stickers and posters all over my childhood bedroom." "Now that I'm older, I'm no longer obsessed with them. But if I had the chance to own the company that created them, I would still love it. Faced with Abel's enthusiastic expression, Isaac Perlmutter's face was a little embarrassed. Abel emphasized that Spider-Man Parker and the X-Men are true Marvel creations. The problem is that the copyrights of these most beloved Marvel superhero characters no longer belong to Marvel. During these difficult days, Marvel sold all of its most valuable licenses. During the 1997 bankruptcy crisis, Marvel even planned to sell all superhero copyrights. It's just that these buyers don't want to and only choose the copyrights they consider valuable. The rest is basically what they don't like. Such as Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Black Widow, etc. They don't like it. Abel did not mention this jar, but he did mention this jar. The ones mentioned are the most popular superhero IPs. But now they don't belong to Marvel anymore and Isaac Perlmutter doesn't know how to express it. "Mr. Smith, you are right," Isaac Perlmutter said condescendingly. But." "Ha~" Abel laughed, "But those most famous heroes don't belong to Marvel anymore, right?" Since you know everything, why keep emphasizing this. Isaac Perlmutter complained in his heart, but naturally did not dare to say it out loud. "Exactly." Isaac Perlmutter said: "Marvel has reached a low point and in these difficult times the company almost went bankrupt. "To maintain her own existence, she has to sell these things during this special time." "But in reality, these superhero copyrights are all left by Marvel, they are the real Kuibao!" That's what Isaac Perlmutter said. But as far as Abel knew, that wasn't the case. Isaac Perlmutter had financial resources early on, and he used them to support Marvel. It's just that this kid is very stingy, filming "Iron Man" in parallel time and space. You could replace the ten Humvees accompanying Tony with four in this scene. He doesn't spend much money to control Marvel, mainly using his own toy company to invest in Marvel. It's impossible for him to spend money to save Marvel. So after taking over Marvel, this guy still hasn't found a supporter. The way he kept Marvel alive was to start selling off Marvel's most valuable copyrights. Spider-Man, X-Men, Fantastic Four, etc. have all been removed from Marvel's copyright chain in these cases. Isaac Perlmutter during this time was very skillful, trying to convince the rich young man in front of him to inject capital into the dying Marvel company. This way, he can also generate income for the fund himself. Good for saving your investment. But soon he saw again and Abel waved again. "Very good. Mr. Perlmutter, you don't need to convince me anymore. If you can see me, it means I still have some interest in Marvel." Abel pretended to be less worried and said indifferently: "Tell me honestly, how do you want me to invest in Marvel?" "After receiving my investment, what will Marvel think?" Although somewhat different from the imagined plan of persuasion, Abel's reaction gave Isaac Perlmutter some confidence. Isaac Perlmutter quickly said: "Marvel is expecting a mortgage from you, Mr. Smith. This mortgage can go to the remaining Marvel heroes." Marvel is essentially a publicly traded company but has almost gone bankrupt. Marvel, a reorganized company on the brink of bankruptcy, has been delisted and Isaac Perlmutter is now its largest shareholder. Marvel's market value is currently extremely low in the market. This makes using stocks as collateral for loans completely impossible, and the remaining hero IPs and toy companies are very valuable. Hearing this request from Isaac Perlmutter, Abel shook his head slightly: "My analysts tell me that Marvel's most valuable copyright is Spider-Man, the only valuable Spider-Man." "Marvel sold Spider-Man to Sony for just seven million dollars." "According to this analysis, accounting for inflation, the remaining Marvel superhero rights are worth a maximum of ten million dollars." "According to this data, dear Isaac, at most you can only use these guarantees to receive a loan of six to seven million dollars from me." "But you want to borrow money?" After listening to Abel's accurate and profound analysis of the remaining copyrights of Marvel heroes. Isaac Perlmutter was silent for a moment. In fact, Marvel Group's remaining superhero intellectual property rights are now worthless in the US capital market. Time and space always go hand in hand Later, Iron Man became so famous that he could only be considered a third-rate superhero in the Marvel superhero series. The first line is Wolverine, Spider-Man, X-Men and Fantastic Four. Thor and Captain America sit in the second row. Tony Stark only became valuable thanks to the movie. Thanks to the popularity of the film, Iron Man's status in the Avengers continued to increase and he directly became the Big Three of the Avengers. Little Spider, the number one giant, in turn became his godson. In Marvel circa 2000, it wasn't the copyrights to these heroes that were truly valuable. Its real value lies in the former ToyBiz toy company, founded a few years ago and renamed Marvel Toys. Isaac Perlmutter is the owner of ToyBiz Toy Company. The toy company's business activities are also the main driving force that helps Marvel survive. Under current market conditions, Marvel's remaining superhero copyrights are worthless. Marvel toys adapted from ToyBiz toys are worth the money. Using it as collateral, you can at least lend tens of millions of dollars or more. However, the toy company is currently the lifeblood of Marvel and that is also the most important factor for Isaac Perlmutter to own Marvel. Isaac Perlmutter doesn't like superheroes but loves making toys. He was understandably reluctant to pawn the toy business. Gritting his teeth, Isaac Perlmutter said softly: "So, Mr. Smith, what do you mean?" Isaac Perlmutter had the feeling that Abel had asked someone to find him. So he must have an interest in Marvel somewhere, otherwise this Wall Street capitalist wouldn't be wasting his time talking to himself. So it's definitely Marvel, there's also something the other person really likes. And this is also the greatest trust that I can rely on to receive money from Abel. Abel smiled and set two conditions for Isaac Perlmutter. "First of all, I can give you some money. But it's not a loan. I want to buy the rights to all the remaining Marvel superheroes. But in addition to these regulations, certain licenses will be issued to toy manufacturers. » "For a while, your toy company doesn't need to pay me royalties and can produce superhero toys for a while." "This price is double, eighteen million dollars." Listen to Abel's situation, especially since the toy rights are free for a while. Former toy company president Isaac Perlmutter was a little emotional and couldn't help but ask: "What other conditions?" "Other?" Abel laughed: "I will buy the entire Marvel company. There are two ways to buy, one is to only buy Marvel and Marvel Studios comics." Marvel founded the film company in 1993. But winter is cold for theaters and the market is slow. At that time Marvel was filming Thor and Hulk. In the end, none of them were released. Firstly, both films were of poor quality and secondly, the market did not accept them. "The toy company will refund your money. Likewise, they will also give you a free license for your toy business for at least two years. » Abel continued: "Another way to buy is to sell me all of Marvel, including your toy company." "My God-" Isaac Perlmutter slowly exhaled and looked deeply at Abel. "So Mr. Smith, what is the price? The price of the first option and the price of the second option." "My offer would be $30 million just for Marvel Studios and Marvel Comics. Because that's all they're worth right now. The current market situation is very pessimistic about the remaining copyright to Marvel's superhero intellectual property. However, it is a comic book publisher in its own right and one of the largest in the United States. Even though the manga publishing industry is in decline, this aspect still has value. There's also a blank Marvel movie set that's also worth several million dollars. There is talent inside. "If I buy the entire Marvel company, my offer is $100 million. They are only valuable to a certain extent. » Don't look at the fact that Marvel is worth over 200 billion US dollars. That's because after the success of the Avengers universe, it has such value. In 2009, Avengers was not really successful. The entire Marvel package was sold to Disney and it was only sold for about $4.2 billion. At that time, in 2000, Marvel had just gone through a bankruptcy crisis. Comic book sales, the main business, are slowing down and are supported entirely by toys. Right now, it's really only worth a certain amount. For such a cheap Marvel, not many people liked it before. Marvel's value only increased slightly after the release of the first "X-Men" this year. But that's just an average, as the global box office of the first X-Men movie only reached $290 million. Although its annual box office revenue ranked sixth, the film's budget was US$75 million and included no more than US$20 million for advertising and distribution funds. This box office, after deducting expenses, only earned less than 10 million USD. Including subsequent sales of peripherals and DVDs, it is considered profitable. Marvel is highly rated so it can borrow money later, after Maguire's first Spider-Man is made public. And after achieving great success, Marvel was truly appreciated by the market. Marvel's market value at the time was at least several times lower than it is today. Look at Isaac Perlmutter's hesitation after giving the conditions. Abel was a little impatient, because he knew that in a year or two, even one or two hundred million dollars could not buy Marvel. As long as he can endure it, he has prepared some actions. Isaac Perlmutter, an investor, is currently going through an investment crisis. Many of Isaac Perlmutter's venture investments, as well as some of his Wall Street investments, suffered losses to varying degrees. Isaac Perlmutter needs to request margin in the near future to avoid wasting these investments. In other words, Isaac Perlmutter is now in more of a hurry. And Isaac Perlmutter's current investment situation is at least half due to Abe letting David Mellon put out the fire behind his back! Abel can endure it, at worst he will add a little money after a while. Once the first Spider-Man comes out, Marvel will no longer be worth much. The first Spider-Man didn't come out until 2002. There were almost two years left and Abel could wait. Of course. He would not stand still, he told David Mellon that he was ready to redouble his efforts at any time. If Isaac Perlmutter can't make up his mind. He would let David Mellon continue to monitor Isaac Perlmutter's investments in the market. The costs of this type of behavior are not high. After using leverage, it only costs millions of dollars. David Mellon even said that the company made millions of dollars from it. By continuing to operate, the company could at least make millions of dollars by reducing Isaac Perlmutter's investment. Smith Capital makes money and of course some people lose money. The man who was shot was Isaac Perlmutter and of course he was the one who lost the money. Because Isaac Perlmutter couldn't make up his mind quickly. So Abel felt he should let others help him make a decision as soon as possible. dare to refuse Or hesitate. Smith Capital will continue to teach Isaac Perlmutter how to behave in the capital markets. This is the means used by financial capitalists. (end of this chapter)