[Chapter 318: Acquisition Blocked]
After more than half a month, Viacom Group's sale of the UPN television network finally entered the next phase: business negotiations.
According to information Robert received, five companies had submitted acquisition applications: Linton Films, Sony Columbia Group, MGM Group, Time Warner Group, and Disney Group.
Further news revealed that among the bids from these five companies, Linton Films had the highest offer at $170 million. The other companies' bids did not exceed $100 million.
From this, it was clear that Linton Films showed the most sincerity in the acquisition. Robert sighed to Linton himself, saying the bid was too high.
Linton didn't pay much attention to the price; as long as they could smoothly acquire UPN, any cost was worth it.
Sure enough, after the first round of negotiations, Robert happily reported to Linton:
"Viacom Group was very friendly during the talks. Of course, they hope we can raise our bid beyond $170 million, but I didn't agree. I think closing at $170 million is highly likely."
"Don't be complacent. How about the other four companies' negotiations?"
"I checked with some contacts at Paramount. Negotiations with the other four companies didn't go well. They didn't value UPN much. Their initial bids were quite low, and during talks they refused to budge. The highest counteroffer was from MGM, willing to raise their price only up to $100 million."
"That makes sense. Among those four, Disney and Time Warner have plenty of television network resources, so naturally, they look down on UPN. Their participation in the acquisition is more casual, trying to take advantage if possible. The ones who truly need UPN are Sony Columbia and MGM. They lack sufficient TV network resources, and acquiring UPN would fill those gaps."
"Boss, you're right, but Sony Columbia just went through management turmoil. The Japanese investors paid a heavy price to oust the 'vampires' Guber and Peters. The new CEO Ajax's power is restricted, and Sony Corporation itself is cautious about media resource acquisitions, so it's hard for Sony Columbia to offer a competitive price now."
"How about MGM? Their promotional resources are weaker. UPN should be more attractive to them, right?"
"You're right. Among Hollywood's Big Seven, MGM is the only one without its own TV network. Normally, they would be the most eager to acquire UPN. However, MGM recently experienced a financial crisis and can't muster enough funds for this acquisition."
"Given that, our advantage in the bid is the greatest."
"Yeah, I'm confident. The second round of negotiations should start soon. Get ready for good news."
"Don't let your guard down. Anything can happen before the contract is signed."
"Understood. I'll use my connections to keep tabs on Viacom's situation."
Just as Linton and Robert thought the big picture was settled, news came from Viacom delaying the second round of negotiations with Linton Films indefinitely.
"Boss, you called it. Viacom has really thrown a wrench in the works," Robert rushed into Linton's office to report.
"Don't panic. Get someone to find out exactly what's going on. Don't hesitate to spend money."
Using his network and financial resources, Robert got detailed information by the next day and came to Linton's office out of breath.
"Boss, I've got it figured out."
"Don't rush. Tell me."
"It's the Douglas family from New York blocking our acquisition."
"The Douglas family from New York? Why would they block us?" Content originally comes from ɴovelfire.net
"I'm not entirely sure, but the family is very influential in the media sector. Plus, they are seen as leaders of the new generation within the Jewish community, holding significant sway.
Apparently, Edward Douglas, the eldest son and heir, personally flew to Los Angeles yesterday morning to meet Viacom's top boss, Redstone. By the afternoon, Viacom delayed their talks with us."
"What does Viacom plan to do? Are they backing out? Or sacrificing their own interests, refusing to sell to us at a high price but willing to sell at a low price to others? Even if Redstone agrees, the board wouldn't. Viacom is a public company, not his personal business."
"I'm not sure about the details, but Edward Douglas began intensive visits yesterday afternoon to Disney, Time Warner, Sony Columbia, MGM, and even News Corporation -- probably trying to persuade them to raise their bids."
"These are all public companies. Such a major acquisition would be carefully decided by their boards. Could they really raise their bids significantly just because of Edward's lobbying? Is the Douglas family that influential?"
"I don't know. Another possibility is he might be pushing for a joint acquisition by several companies."
"That seems unlikely. UPN has been operating at a loss for a long time. If several companies jointly acquire it, managing it will be even more difficult and losses bigger. What's their goal?"
"I can't make sense of it either."
"And News Corporation? They didn't even bid. Plus, Rupert Murdoch isn't Jewish, and Fox Network is known for its conservative views, often opposing other Jewish-controlled TV networks."
"Right. So do they prefer a rival to acquire UPN than us? Boss, do we have beef with the Douglas family? Why are they targeting us ?"
There was definitely bad blood. Early this year at the farm, Linton and the FBI along with the National Weather Service teamed up to oust them from the research team and forced them to pay $64 million in cash damages.
Although Linton always portrayed himself as a victim publicly and didn't openly engage in their conflicts, if the Douglas family reviewed the records carefully, smart minds would pick up the clues.
Moreover, recently they tried to plant Steve Kahn as a spy inside Linton's company, but he was captured and turned the tables, assassinating his spy supervisor, a key Douglas family member Marcell Douglas, before committing suicide.
That had to be handled carefully to avoid suspicion, but the Douglas family would eventually figure it out.
So, it's no surprise they're retaliating now.
However, they vastly underestimated Linton's true power, thinking he was just a small film company boss and an armed farm owner. That's why they still shamelessly use dirty tactics against him.
Since the Douglas family has repeatedly targeted Linton -- this was their fourth time -- it seemed they hadn't learned their lesson well. It was about time Linton hit back hard.
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