Chapter 75: Relativity

"I understand you have concerns," Ronan smiled and said, "Parker, Neil, Wilson, the three major shareholders of your company, are very eager to sell their shares. They have had several rounds of discussions with my representatives, and this deal will soon be concluded, or else I wouldn't be meeting with you."

Garcia also smiled but didn't respond to Ronan's words.

Ronan continued in a calm tone, "Rest assured, you won't become a department of Sahara Entertainment, nor will you go from being company executives to department managers."

The raising of Garcia's eyebrows indicated that this was his main concern.

Ronan went on, "Embassy Pictures will remain Embassy Pictures and won't be merged into Sahara Entertainment. It will become a subsidiary of my newly established company, just like Sahara Entertainment."

Hearing this, Garcia's psychological burden lessened considerably.

"After the acquisition, the salaries of all employees will increase to varying degrees, with a ten percent increase for the management," Ronan noticed the change in Garcia's expression, "I will try to retain all employees as much as possible. Employees with experience in film distribution are a valuable asset."

After a brief pause, he added, "What I want is a company with a complete workforce and distribution channels, not a fragmented one."

Garcia finally couldn't help but ask, "And the management?"

"No changes for six months," Ronan was straightforward, facing adults who were in business, "As long as they prove their abilities, their positions and salaries won't be an issue."

Garcia breathed a sigh of relief; this condition was quite favorable.

Ronan concluded the meeting voluntarily, saying, "Mr. Garcia, take your time to consider."

In the following days, the pace of acquiring Embassy Pictures suddenly accelerated. Robert was responsible for contacting the three major shareholders, while George stayed in touch with Embassy Pictures' management.

Meanwhile, Ronan went to Delaware and, with the assistance of a professional team, registered a new company—Relativity Entertainment Company.

If all went well, this company would become the holding company of Sahara Entertainment and Embassy Pictures.

Returning to Los Angeles, negotiations between Robert and Embassy Pictures continued, and Ronan signed an agency agreement with Shengzhi Law Firm, the industry's top-notch law firm, to assist in handling the acquisition of Embassy Pictures.

Dealing with transactions involving tens of millions of dollars required legal services from a professional team.

Soon, a mixed message came from Robert's side. The three major shareholders of Embassy Pictures, holding up to ninety percent of the shares, expressed their willingness to sell their shares, but they demanded a staggering $35 million.

Their reasons were quite sufficient. Embassy Pictures not only had a complete distribution system but also owned the copyrights to more than forty films in its library.

However, these films were all low-budget productions from overseas, and Embassy Pictures hadn't spent more than $200,000 on any single one.

Ronan proposed a plan to strip the film library from the acquisition...

To be frank, without sufficient funds, this would only make his liquidity more strained.

Both sides began a brief tug-of-war negotiation. When the price fell to $30 million, the three shareholders refused to budge.

Ronan understood that factors beyond direct negotiation could also influence the outcome of the negotiations.

Especially since the beginning of 1999, Nasdaq seemed to have gone crazy, with internet stocks soaring.

On Scott's side, he had been in constant contact with Wilson, visiting him several times, and even invited Wilson to the Los Angeles branch of Merrill Lynch.

He specifically chose a day when the stock market was surging. After work, Scott went to visit Wilson again.

"I can only say that those who entered the market have made too much money," Scott sat on the sofa and said to Wilson, "Yahoo's stock price rose by $35 today..."

Hearing that Yahoo's stock rose by $35 in a single day, Wilson felt as if he had seen countless dollars flying away. He didn't even catch the other stock data that Scott mentioned afterwards.

Scott knew that initially, this was a private job for Ronan Anderson. But as things progressed, he saw the possibility of gaining more benefits.

Turning Wilson into his big client!

How much commission could clients like this bring him?

So, Scott was very diligent in this private job.

When Wilson came back to his senses, Scott said again, "Mr. Wilson, as a wealthy and wise investor like you, every day you delay entering the market, you're losing astronomical profits."

Wilson rubbed his chin, thinking seriously. He never thought of being a bystander.

Scott glanced at him quietly and continued, "Mr. Wilson, as someone with money and investment insight like you, just being an observer seems a waste. Last year, one of my major clients invested tens of millions of dollars, and now his wealth has almost doubled. This is a feast, a veritable wealth feast."

A sense of regret started to brew in Wilson's heart.

Scott spoke again, "Mr. Wilson, investors like you, with both wealth and wisdom, every day you're not in the market, you're losing profits in astronomical figures."

Wilson tried hard to keep himself calm, as if everything was under control, "The timing isn't right yet. When it is, I'll enter naturally."

Scott smiled, stopped pushing the topic further, and instead began discussing the recent changes in the stock market.

In the following days, Ronan joined the negotiations with Embassy Pictures. The negotiations, which were originally difficult, became smoother, and Embassy Pictures agreed to sell after stripping the film library.

Those dozens of low-budget films from overseas also found new buyers, as there were companies willing to buy them to enrich their own film libraries.

If Ronan had sufficient funds, he would have bought them as well.

But he needed to maintain a healthy cash flow.

Just after Sahara Entertainment held a project initiation press conference for "Death is Coming," Ronan reached an agreement with the three major shareholders and the management of Embassy Pictures during the negotiations.

Ronan's company, Relativity, acquired the shares held by the three major shareholders and the management of Embassy Pictures for $25 million, paid in one lump sum.

Embassy Pictures also became a subsidiary of Relativity.

According to the agreement between Ronan and Garcia, the internal situation of Embassy Pictures remained stable, and employees were actually happy to see the company acquired by a wealthier boss.

Most people preferred a better future.

Subsequently, with the assistance of the legal team, Ronan also transferred Sahara Entertainment to Relativity.

Of course, Sahara Entertainment and Embassy Pictures were completely independent companies.

Ronan had a deep conversation with Robert, who moved from Sahara Entertainment to Embassy Pictures and became vice president.

To make horses run, you need to feed them grass. Ronan once again increased the benefits for the three elders and made promises of options.

Sahara Entertainment was stable. After the share change in Embassy Pictures, there would definitely be an adjustment period.

But compared to establishing a brand-new distribution system, Embassy Pictures could function more rapidly and effectively.

By acquiring Embassy Pictures, which had a complete distribution channel for theaters, videotapes, and DVDs, Ronan had initially gained some market dominance.

Then, while slowly adjusting and controlling Embassy Pictures, Ronan truly joined the crew of "Death is Coming" and led the preparation of the film.

Due to the previous successful cooperation, a considerable portion of the behind-the-scenes team of the crew were veterans from "The Purge" series, although some special effects positions needed to be rehired.

Regarding actors, the $15 million public budget attracted the attention of many agents.

And this time, it was obviously different from "The Purge" series. People with a professional eye could easily analyze from the direction of "Death is Coming" that it was a high-budget horror film!