In the front cabin study of Boeing 767, C girl Claire Gain knocked on the door to remind her that she had arrived in Japanese airspace and sent a box of watches with the time zone adjusted as usual.

Simon picked one and put it on to see the time.

Japan is 18 hours earlier than the east coast of the United States. It is now November 5th, at around 10 a.m. on Monday.

The purpose of this trip to Japan was to meet with Akio Fumi, President of Panasonic, and it was not a whim.

Ever since the Hurst family snatched away the 20% stake in ESPN from Simon, he had an idea to find a way to get Panasonic to withdraw from the transaction.

The Hurst family has recently obtained ESPN shares from Reynolds Nabeske, spending only $180 million. I wonder if it has used its own "influence" again, which is a full $20 million lower than Simon's original offer.

However, although there were a lot of bargaining chips in his hand, Simon did not have the idea of ​​forcing Panasonic to withdraw.

Panasonic's market value in this era is comparable to that of industry giants such as DuPont and General Electric in the United States. As a local snake, Daenerys Entertainment uses some of its own advantages to force Panasonic to withdraw from the acquisition, which is not without the possibility of success, but it seems very unwise to do so.

Compared to the Hurst family's power, Simon hopes to cooperate.

The development of the Westeros system will only touch the interests of more and more people in the future. In this case, if you want to continue to expand, you must win over more allies as much as possible instead of creating enemies. This is a decision made by Simon when he kept thinking about the development route of the Westeros system in recent months. Even if the Westeros system is strong enough in the future, he does not intend to change this idea.

Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment began contacting Panasonic last week and sent a general draft of cooperation in advance. Simon and Akio Koi finally agreed to have a meeting this afternoon.

As it was almost noon, Simon and his group got off the plane, and Panasonic did not neglect and specially prepared a luncheon.

However, the luncheon was very small. If it were not considered a translation, only Simon and Akio Koi were not intended to make it known to everyone that he suddenly came to Japan, and Simon also liked it.

Moreover, only Akio Kikui appeared at the luncheon, and Simon also roughly guessed the reason.

The purpose of Simon's trip to Japan is to convince Panasonic to withdraw from the MCA acquisition case. For Panasonic, after the death of its founder Konosuke Matsushita last year, the huge corporate giant was not in a firm mind. Akio Koi hoped to acquire MCA, and there were actually many oppositions within Panasonic. Akio Koi should not want the news of his meeting with Simon to spread.

Inside a fine Japanese restaurant in downtown Osaka.

Akio Kikui is a short man about sixty years old. He wears glasses and looks a little serious.

After everyone introduced each other, they came to a private room.

There are four people in total, Akio Koi and his translator, a tall and thin middle-aged man.

Simon took Claire Gain, because of the frequent economic cooperation between Australia and Japan in the 1980s, the C girl who graduated from the University of Melbourne majored in civil engineering and also studied Japanese, and reached a very high level, and was more than enough to serve as a translator.

Speaking of which, Janet chose the four "vases" of ABCD that she chose for her. Although she did not have the top academic qualifications like the new butler Alice Ferguson, she was also an elite level. Otherwise, the new butler would not have been tricked by Girl C on the first day.

According to women, ABCD can complement Simon.

For example, the "civil engineering" majoring in Girl C in college but Simon knows nothing, Japanese is also considered one of Simon's weaknesses.

The four of them sat cross-legged on the ground at the typical Japanese dining table. At first, they chatted casually about topics. After the waiter brought lunch one by one, the topic was slightly relaxed.

Girl C was not shy about it, and was very close to Simon. She exhaled like a cognac and followed the opposite side and translated: "Simon, what do you think of the current situation of the Japanese economy? Will it continue to deteriorate?"

Simon skillfully held the chopsticks and tasted the sashimi in front of him. Hearing this, he looked at Akio Kui on the opposite side and said, "It won't be worse, but it should continue to be a downward state for a few years."

The middle-aged translator was also translating in Akio Koi's ear in a low voice.

After listening to the translation, Akio Kikui seemed to be a little unbelievable and asked something again.

Girl C said in real time: "The Japanese government has taken many rescue measures, and the foundation of Japan's economy is very solid, so it should not continue to be sluggish for a long time, right?"

Simon said: "I have always been a little concerned about this. The Bank of Japan has recently started to lower interest rates again, which in my opinion is very unwise. The bubble in the Japanese economy has not completely dissipated, especially the real estate bubble. The rush to lower interest rates and increase liquidity now will only allow funds to flow into the real estate market, which will not be of much benefit to the real economy."

"You mean, does Japan need to completely abandon the real estate industry?"

Simon nodded and smiled, "This is a very difficult choice, but it is also a necessary choice."

"Simon, when do you think the Japanese economy will start to recover?"

Simon smiled and shook his head: "I don't know this. There have been many economic crises in history. Some countries are not painful and can survive in two or three years, but some countries will be in a slump and remain in a state of decline. The key is to see how the Japanese government does it."

"So, Simon, what do you think is the most serious problem facing the Japanese economy besides the real estate bubble?"

Simon did not expect Akio Koi to pursue these issues involving the national economic level. He noticed that the translator on the other side seemed to be more focused than Akio Koi, and he roughly guessed something. After all, Cersei Capital's operation around the Japanese stock market last year was indeed a classic. Moreover, Simon's own rise resume was also legendary, and he accumulated huge amounts of capital by relying on betting on the macroeconomic level several times in a row.

After thinking for a while, Simon did not hide his own personal information. Anyway, he said now that even if someone cares, it is involved in the future of a country, few people will easily follow the opinions of an outsider.

"I think the most serious problem facing the Japanese economy is corporate debt. If this problem cannot be solved well, the Japanese economy may continue to be sluggish, and may even last for more than ten years."

“We have lowered bank interest rates, which should relieve the cash flow pressure on businesses.”

"No, Gujing, you made one mistake." Simon shook his head and said, "The problem of Japanese companies is not that they lack money, but that they dare not borrow money anymore. Because after the stock market bubble burst, with the market value plummeting, the debt ratio of many Japanese companies will increase significantly. In the next few years, these Japanese companies will only focus on reducing their own debts so that the balance sheets will appear healthier. Therefore, measures such as lowering interest rates are of little effect for the real industry."

Opposite the dining table, Akio Kiyoshi finally stopped asking questions continuously. After thinking for a while, he said again: "This sounds like an unsolvable situation."

Simon nodded: "Yes, companies are determined to reduce their debts and dare not borrow money. This will definitely lead to a decline in liquidity and further trigger deflation. Once this situation occurs, the entire country's economy will lose its vitality and will never recover from it."

Akio Kiyoi thought for a moment, but still looked up at Simon: "Is it really impossible to solve?"

Simon said: "The solution is actually not missing. Roosevelt did a good job back then. The key to vigorously develop infrastructure construction through government investment is to spend money. However, Japan's infrastructure construction is already very complete. What you need to do is spend money, and it is best to spend it abroad."

After listening to the translator's explanation, Akio Kikui smiled and said, "Simon, you are a very honest person."

Simon roughly understood the meaning of Akio Koi'i's words, and also understood the meaning. He smiled and said, "Yes, if I follow my intention this time, I should persuade you to keep cash as much as possible and not make foreign investments. However, I think Japan's more suitable investment target should be emerging developing countries, such as Asian countries, and Eastern European countries. The United States is not a good choice, and Hollywood is even more out of place for Panasonic."

When she heard Simon talk about Hollywood, Akio Koi did not change the subject, but asked seriously: "Simon, why do you say that Hollywood is not a good choice for Panasonic?"

Simon thought for a while and said, "Gujing, do you know the 'Hollywood account book'?"

Akio Koi nodded and said, "I heard a bit about it. A common accounting method of Hollywood studios converts most of the profits into expenses in order to reduce tax burdens and share them based on creators."

"This is just one of the Hollywood books," Simon nodded, saying, "In fact, there is another Hollywood books for outsiders. For example, Panasonic, you spent $10 million to invest in a video and won a box office of $100 million in North America. So, how much do you think you can get?"

Akira Kikui was determined for a moment and said, "If Panasonic bought MCA, I think the company could make at least $30 million in addition to production and distribution costs, right?"

"No, even if Panasonic becomes the boss of MCA, you may still lose money."

“How to say it?”

"I heard you plan to let Vassalman and Himberg continue to take charge of the company. According to the example I just gave, you can make more than $30 million with an investment of $10 million and a box office of $100 million. But more likely, Vassalman will sign a very generous share contract with the main creator, 20% of the net profit for directors, such as Spielberg, 20% of the net profit for starring actors, such as Dustin Hoffman. Then, there are also the producer's commission and the more inflated promotional costs after the big sale. Even if a movie invested with $10 million is earning $100 million, you may not necessarily make a penny."

"Simon, I don't think this will happen."

"In fact, this has happened. Gujing, you can look at the information about Captain Hawk that Columbia Pictures is producing, and they use this sharing model. Moreover, because it is directed by Spielberg and starring Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams, the production cost of Captain Hawk is much more than $10 million. I don't think Sony can make much money from this project. Even Spielberg and Dustin Hoffman are involved in projects that Sony cannot make money. Do you think other films invested in will still make profits?"

Akio Koi hesitated for a moment and asked, "Simon, in fact, we don't need to let Vasalman and the others take charge of the world. Moreover, we will strengthen supervision of this company."

Simon shook his head and said, "Hollywood is actually a very closed circle. I know you may still be considering letting Michael Ovitz take charge of this company. Ovitz is indeed a very outstanding agent, but you may not be very clear about what he has been doing over the years. What Ovitz has been doing in the past ten years is to find ways to help CAA customers get higher pay. Even if he is in charge of MCA, this thinking will not change easily. He will still attract talents through very generous share contracts, and may bring you a superficial prosperity. As for the benefits, of course, we should still leave it to our own people in Hollywood as much as possible. You are outsiders after all."

Akio Kikui still disbelief and said, "Simon, this is just a word of yours."

Simon smiled and continued, "Actually, there is a last solution. Panasonic personally sends someone to take charge of the company. In fact, this is the right thing to do. Because Hollywood studios need a one-sentence paternalistic management method, and there is no need for professional managers. However, for Panasonic, this idea is even worse, because you don't understand the entertainment industry at all, and if you take charge of this company yourself, you will become more thorough outsiders. Hollywood will not need any consideration for you to draw profits from you. Even a 500-pound sumo wrestler who enters Hollywood and goes around, he will probably be skinny when he comes out."

The originally focused girl C couldn't help laughing when she heard Simon's last metaphor. Realizing that she was out of control, the girl quickly said sorry, lowered her eyes and clumsily picked up her chopsticks to pretend to be busy.

But Akio Koi didn't laugh, his expression gradually became solemn, staring at Simon and said, "I suddenly realized something. Simon, you are also what you call 'Hollywood'. What you said is basically just to get Panasonic to withdraw from the MCA acquisition."

"I don't deny this. This is my purpose in Japan," Simon nodded, saying, "But, Gujing, I'm a very honest person, you just said it. And, what I said, you can find someone to investigate. Hollywood has many similar cases. For example, Colombia, although Sony and Panasonic are competitors, you can investigate. The two leaders hired by Sony have done this year to empty the company."

Akio Gujing hesitated for a moment, and Zheng Xin said, "I can do it."

"Let's talk about our cooperation," Simon said instead: "Panisham acquires MCA to a large extent to follow up with Sony and avoid the other party using its content advantages to invade Panasonic's market share in the film and music hardware fields. Daenerys Entertainment can give you all, and it's better than Panasonic's acquisition of MCA. For example, in terms of movies, in the past few years, Daenerys Entertainment has a large part of the top ten movies in North America's box office, which is our content advantage. Now, Daenerys Entertainment also has a largest videotape chain company in North America. In terms of content and channels, Daenerys Entertainment has an unparalleled advantage in Hollywood. As long as we cooperate, it is not impossible to completely squeeze Sony video recorders out of the market. You should have seen the information I sent in advance, and this is just one of the cooperation content between us."
Chapter completed!