Chapter 136: The Lion Corleone Group
[Chapter 136: The Lion Corleone Group]
"Mr. Corleone, I'm really not a con artist! I can provide you with some tax reduction strategy plans for free, even if you invest fifty thousand dollars. I guarantee I can immediately find a licensed brokerage firm that handles stocks listed on the three major securities exchanges." Joe quickly responded.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely give you a job. What we need to do now is get to know each other better. Think of this as an interview. I want to briefly understand your personal life situation and hear your detailed analysis on internet companies and the Asian financial crisis! I promise, as long as your professional skills satisfy me, you'll get a well-paying position!" Charlie smiled.
"Alright, Mr. Corleone!" Joe took a deep breath and nodded.
Charlie spent most of the day talking and communicating with Joe.
He specifically called Judy to inform her, and asked Uncle Lamont to find a quiet cafe for their meeting.
Joe's analysis on some matters made Charlie look at him with renewed respect.
...
Joe Bell was also born in Memphis, came from a single-parent family with tough conditions. Because his mother suddenly became seriously ill, he had to drop out early and start working. He also had a girlfriend. In short, he was currently going through a low point in life.
His outlook on internet companies wasn't based on last August's Netscape listing.
Instead, he gave a long-winded account, starting from the eagle-bear rivalry to the prosperity of the economy in the '90s. He mentioned the development of information technology, major innovations over the past sixty years, the new Information Act, and the Taxpayer Relief Act coming into effect next year.
Joe also gave a lengthy analysis of the economic situation in Southeast Asia.
Their conversation made Charlie appreciate Joe even more. He was an outstanding talent with a broad global strategic view!
They hit it off, and when parting, Joe sincerely thanked Charlie for offering him a job.
...
That night, Charlie headed back to Los Angeles with Uncle Lamont, much to the reluctance of his grandfather's family.
The next few days were nonstop busy for Charlie.
First, he took Gert, Melche, and others to meet Roy Disney to collect twenty-five million dollars, which was half of the fifty percent contract amount for purchasing copyright.
Then it was endless meetings and discussions with a few senior executives to gather their opinions.
Besides this, Charlie spent three hundred thousand dollars in consultation fees and, with Joe acting as his temporary assistant, hired a top business lawyer team from Cravath to analyze and understand the structure of a large entertainment media group.
...
Afterwards, Charlie formally contacted Frank Giustra, the Corola Foundation, the Trumm family fund, and Bob Shriver's Sargent Fund.
They spent over ten days continuously meeting for business discussions about cooperation!
At present, the asset structure of Corleone Holdings, Lions Gate Studios, and other entities was very clear, with the big bosses all showing cooperation intentions.
Finally, by mid-December, all agreements were signed!
...
After adjustments, the Lion Corleone Film and Entertainment Group was established. The shareholders were Corleone Holdings, Corleone Intellectual Property Company (formerly the copyright management company), Pillow Health Trust, Giustra Trust, Corola Foundation, Trumm Fund, and Sargent Fund.
The first three controlled over 68% of the shares.
The group had two main business clusters: production, which included Corleone Studios and Lions Gate Studios; and distribution, including Mafia Distribution Company and Corleone Home Entertainment.
The newly established Corleone Home Entertainment carried many of Charlie's hopes. This company would handle sales of various home media formats for films and future TV shows under the Lion Corleone umbrella.
Formats like VHS tapes, DVDs, ultra-high-definition Blu-rays, and more, which could be sold for many years!
The production cost of these copies was very low, allowing distributors to make about 80% profit from sales, while industry standards dictated that only 20% of that 80% counted as royalties for Mafia Distribution Company!
Establishing a home entertainment distribution company wasn't hard; Charlie and his team planned to buy a small company for the disc production factory. Using Bobby Shriver's connections, they made an agreement with Sony, who would provide the newly launched DVD burning system for free this year, worth about a million dollars.
Additionally, Corleone Home Entertainment confirmed cooperation with retail chains like Fotomat and Blockbuster.
Shares previously owned by Miramax had, through various business operations, become assets of Corleone Studios and Mafia Distribution Company.
Through these moves, Charlie removed Harvey Weinstein's seat on the board.
Besides the two production and two distribution companies, the Pillow Health partners also belonged to the group.
Board members included Charlie, Frank Giustra, Kevin, Etto, Pierza, and independent directors from the three fund shareholders.
Congressman Mr. Kelly was dismissed from all positions but maintained interests through other channels.
Charlie served as chairman, president, and CEO. The others held vice president titles. Frank managed Lions Gate, Kevin took charge of Corleone Studios, Etto handled Home Entertainment, and Pierza remained responsible for Mafia Distribution Company.
Melche and Gert also held vice president titles.
Mord was senior assistant to the president, but actually still took care of company gossip.
Through funding, mergers, and contracts, the company acquired about $41 million in new assets.
Lions Gate and Home Entertainment totaled $13 million, with parts of Frank's former distribution company merged into Mafia worth six million.
Remaining new assets included a three-story former retail building in Burbank serving as the group headquarters with new equipment and renovations; four pickup trucks; five assorted passenger cars; distribution agreements with airlines, cruise lines, educational institutions; and six million in cash injection.
As for the true value of physical assets and network relationships, that depended on the goodwill of shareholders like Jason Trumm and Bobby Shriver.
Outside the group, Charlie's other assets were Corleone Intellectual Property Company, Corleone Holdings, and Pillow Health Trust. These three companies held cross shareholdings, with Pillow Health Trust hidden deepest and controlling the most assets.
Locke managed the IP company, Lamont was reassigned to the holdings company by Charlie, and Joe was under the trust company.
Thus, Charlie's future business foundation was truly established.
This time, the group finalized detailed organizational bylaws, shareholder nomination and director appointment procedures, compensation systems, and other structural frameworks.
This enabled Charlie to better weave his network of interests, reduce potential threats from Disney over the Lord of the Rings copyright, and prepare for future public listing and equity incentives.
More interestingly, Charlie's nominal company assets now totaled around two hundred million!
...
On June 25 this year, Charlie ambitiously stormed the Manhattan Plaza Theater premiere of Independence Day with several brothers.
Less than half a year later, a complex and entangled entertainment conglomerate ruler emerged out of nowhere?
Of course, the Lion Corleone Group had not yet completed all its formation work. The new office was under renovation, and many contracts were being signed.
But the news was unstoppable!
Charlie took this chance to land some spots in the secondary pages of The Washington Post:
"Charlie Corleone -- The Youngest Godfather of Hollywood!"
He was pictured in a suit, with a patch of blue stubble, legs apart, hugging Evelyn in front of a large backdrop, smiling and gazing forward. The news about the Lion Corleone Group spread rapidly.
Thus, Fifty Shades of Gray, not yet out of theaters, and Wrong Turn, clinging to just 800 theaters, both experienced a surge in sales.
Michael Eisner, Roy Disney, Tom Rothman...
Countless people were stunned!
*****
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