Chapter 898: Psychological warfare offensive

'Boss, CAA's office is on the third floor.'

Three black Rolls-Royce Phantoms were parked neatly in the parking spaces along the roadside. Xia Yu and the others got out of the car, and Gordon Simpson, his assistant, pointed to a hanging signboard on the third floor ten metres away.

'Let's go!'

Xia Yu nodded slightly, and Gordon Simpson led the way.

After a short while, the group arrived at the reception of CAA. Gordon Simpson went to negotiate, took out a business card and handed it to the receptionist, saying, 'Hello, we are from Polaris Capital. We made a reservation yesterday. This is our company's business card.'

'Okay, please wait a moment. You can sit there for now,'

After the receptionist said that, she took out the appointment register and flipped through it a few times to make sure it was correct, then made a phone call. After a few brief words, she hung up and respectfully said to Gordon Simpson, 'Hello, our president just so happens to be free in the office. My colleague will take you there.'

'Okay.'

Led by a female employee, Xia Yu and the others saw someone standing at the door with a smile on his face welcoming them before they even reached the president's office. Xia Yu recognised him at once as Michael Ovitz.

'Hello, I'm Michael Ovitz, welcome to the office!'

Michael Ovitz warmly shook hands with everyone to welcome them.

After the appointment with Polaris Capital yesterday, he had made a special effort to learn about Polaris Capital. Shocked by the strength of Polaris Capital, he had been unable to settle down for the rest of the day, with emotions such as anticipation, trepidation and confusion filling his heart.

Looking at Michael Ovitz's inquisitive gaze, Gordon Simpson introduced Xia Yu to him: 'Mr Ovitz, this is our boss at Polaris Capital, Xia Yu Xia.'

'Hello, Mr Ovitz!'

Xia Yu said with a smile after Gordon Simpson had introduced him.

Hearing that Xia Yu was the boss of Polaris Capital, Michael Ovitz was shocked and completely at a loss for words. His attitude became even more enthusiastic, and he even took on a hint of respect, saying hello while hurriedly ushering Xia Yu into the office: 'Mr. Xia, it's an honour to meet you, please come in!'

'Thank you!'

After entering, the female employee was preparing the coffee, and Michael Ovitz, unable to contain his excitement, asked first: 'Mr. Xia, I wonder what business you are here for?'

Xia Yu smiled slightly, nodded and said frankly, 'Our company is interested in entering the film industry, and a brokerage company is in the industry chain, so I have been investigating brokerage companies these past few days, and your company is the second one I have come to.'

'Mr. Orvitz, can you introduce your company to me?'

Hearing that his company was the second one to be investigated, Michael Orvitz was shocked. He was originally surprised that the owner of Polaris Capital had come in person, but now he suddenly felt a sense of loss.

After calming his emotions, Michael Ovitz agreed, 'Of course, it's my pleasure.'

'Our company was founded in 1975. After five years of development, CAA is now a well-known Hollywood agency with the strongest growth momentum. And just last month, we signed another superstar, Dustin Hoffman, after Sean Connery and Paul Newman...'

North Star Capital has a very strong ability to collect business intelligence. Xia Yu had already read the detailed information on CAA a long time ago. At this point, letting Michael Ovitz introduce his company was nothing more than pretending not to know in order to gain the initiative and wait for an opportunity to bring up the topic.

Xia Yu could easily tell that Michael Ovitz was bragging about CAA and not mentioning any weaknesses.

CAA, whose full name is Creative Artists Agency, was founded by five people: Michael Ovitz, Ron Meyer, Mike Rosenfeld, William Harburg and Roland Perkins. All five had left William Morris Agency, Hollywood's top agency.

Then a sixth partner, Martin Baum, joined, opening the ceiling for CAA's growth and propelling it to rapid growth.

Now CAA has signed three superstars and a number of up-and-coming stars or newcomers. With only 28 agents, the company is growing relatively quickly, but it also has a significant weakness, which is that it is too dependent on the full efforts of the founders, such as Michael Ovitz.

With CAA's revenue reaching 15 million US dollars last year, the company's growth rate has slowed significantly.

As Xia Yu knows, CAA's annual revenue is 15 million US dollars, but the net profit is only 4.6 million US dollars, and Michael Ovitz, as president, only earns 300,000 US dollars a year.

From this we can see the true strength of CAA today.

Because he understood, Xia Yu just took Michael Ovitz's introduction as a joke, but he kept smiling the whole time, without any unusual expression.

'Mr Xia, that's all I have to say. That's basically the situation at CAA,'

Michael Ovitz let out a long breath and took a sip of his coffee.

'Mr Ovitz, from what you've told me, CAA does have some obvious advantages, but for us, it's still too small,'

Xia Yu said, shaking his head slightly.

Hearing this, Michael Ovitz couldn't help but feel a surge of anger, but then he thought about the strength of Polaris Capital and a sense of powerlessness rose within him.

Xia Yu said with a smile to Michael Ovitz, 'Mr. Ovitz, I'm sorry to say this, but it is indeed the truth. Our company likes to make big investments, just like our $1.1 billion investment in IBM. We prefer to spend money to save time rather than investing small amounts of money and waiting.'

Michael Ovitz's anger disappeared completely, replaced only by resentment and bitterness. What could he do when what others said was the truth?

Xia Yu's invisible arrogance hit him even harder!

Realising that the blow was almost over, Xia Yu suddenly changed the subject and said, 'But compared to CAA, I have a better impression of you as a person. The reason I dropped by CAA is because I heard about you from others. Now it seems that you really have the qualities and abilities to surpass others.'

Michael Ovitz's mood improved slightly. After saying thank you, he calmed down and asked calmly, 'So Mr. Xia, can I know your plans?'

'I want to invest in you, and you and CAA both need a strong capital backing, don't you?'

Michael Ovitz had just been hit by Xia Yu one after the other, and he was already a little upset. At this time, he suddenly heard that Xia Yu wanted to invest in him, and he reacted a little, trying to regain some initiative for himself: 'Mr. Xia, thank you for your recognition of me, but I don't think CAA is lacking funds right now. CAA is already on the right track, and success is only a matter of time. I am confident.'

Xia Yu said with a smile, 'Mr. Ovitz, don't reject it yet. Do you want to hear my opinion on other agencies?'

Michael Ovitz realised that Xia Yu was trying to undermine him, but he still wanted to hear what Xia Yu had to say, and nodded, saying, 'Of course, it would be my pleasure.'

Xia Yu took a sip of coffee to moisten his throat before saying, 'In the brokerage field, the MCA Group is now the most powerful thing. Lew Wasserman has unparalleled influence in the entertainment industry and can be called the emperor of the entertainment industry, suppressing other brokerage companies below him. I heard that your idol is him, so you should know very well the strength of the MCA Group.'

Michael Ovitz was speechless at these words, because they were indeed the truth. His goal was to become a figure like Lew Wasserman, the boss who had been behind the scenes planning and dominating the way Hollywood worked for decades.

Xia Yu smiled slightly and continued, 'And William Morris Agency, the company you were previously with, you should also know very well, is a top Hollywood agency with annual revenue of over $100 million. It is full of superstars and has more than 150 agents under its banner. In terms of assets and influence in Hollywood, it is far above CAA.'

'Of course, at first I planned to acquire this company, which would cost at most a few hundred million dollars.'

Michael Ovitz's face suddenly turned ugly, and a huge pressure rose in his heart.

He came from William Morris Agency, so naturally he knew the strength of his old employer. If it was really acquired by Polaris Capital, then with the strong support of Polaris Capital, it would be no problem for William Morris Agency to compete with MCA Group in the future. The current situation of Hollywood's brokerage industry, where there is one superpower and many small powers, would change to a situation of two superpowers competing for hegemony. When the two fight at that time, small and medium-sized brokerage companies like them will definitely suffer.

Large companies have the confidence to raise salaries and benefits, but if they do, the company will easily fall into the red and enter a vicious cycle.

Michael Ovitz's ugly face was in Xia Yu's field of vision. He pretended not to notice and continued to attack: 'Let's not talk about large brokerage companies. Let's look at medium-sized brokerage companies, such as International Creative Management on Constellation Boulevard, which was founded in the same year as your CAA, but it started out by merging two brokerage companies, the Creative Management Association and the internationally renowned brokerage company, into one. It is also a subsidiary of the publicly traded Josephson International company and has strong financial resources.

'Although there were many disputes in the early years due to mismanagement, the new president Jeffrey Berg, who took office at the beginning of this year, has already enabled ICM to develop rapidly and show great aggressiveness. There is no doubt that it will definitely have a seat among the top Hollywood agencies in the future.'

'I heard that ICM has been poaching talent. I wonder if they have poached CAA?'

Upon hearing this, Michael Ovitz's face had turned as black as a pot bottom. International Creative Management was his rival, having poached many of his stars and agents. If it weren't for his active efforts, it was doubtful that CAA would have any of the three major superstars.

He deeply detested International Creative Management's reckless expansion based on capital. But behind his hatred, wasn't it a mentality of being jealous because you can't have what you want?

If CAA had enough funds, he would do even more ruthless things than International Creative Management!

Everything should be done in moderation.

Seeing that Michael Ovitz had been so badly beaten that he didn't even bother to fake a smile, Xia Yu revealed a kind smile and returned to the topic, saying, 'Mr Ovitz, if we cooperate, CAA can definitely become the top Hollywood agency. You will realise your dream, gain huge fame and wealth, while I will perfect the industry chain and get a certain return on my venture capital investment.'

'What do you think of my proposal?'

Michael Orwitz had already agreed in his heart to accept investment from Polaris Capital, but throughout the entire process, he had completely lost the initiative, and if he rashly agreed, he would definitely be taken advantage of.

Moreover, although he was elected president by the other partners last year, he did not have much equity, only 25%, so he could not make the decision either.

Thinking about this, he calmed down and said apologetically to Xia Yu, 'Mr Xia, my mind is a bit confused right now, and I cannot think clearly for the time being. There are also five other partners in CAA, so this matter must be discussed collectively before a decision can be made.'

Xia Yu smiled slightly and said understandingly, 'I understand, but I hope you will think about it carefully. I really think highly of you.'

'That's enough for today. It's getting late. I have an appointment with the president of William Morris Agency, Whitbread, in the morning, so I have to go now.'

Michael Owitz's heart sank, and he forced a smile as he saw Xia Yu and the others out the door.

As he watched the three Rolls-Royce Phantoms start off in the direction of their former employer, Michael Owitz felt a huge weight of pressure in his heart. He immediately notified the five partners to come to the company for an emergency meeting.