Chapter 521

California's Central Coast is located between Los Angeles County and San Francisco County, with San Luis Obispo County nestled in the heart of the Central Coast. To the north, it borders Monterey County, and to the south, it borders Santa Barbara County.

Charles' mother, Evelyn, had recently purchased a private 650-acre estate ranch in San Luis Obispo. The ranch included a horse farm, an automatically irrigated pasture, orchards, and much more.

There was also a luxury villa located on the hill of the ranch. Charles had specifically brought Scarlett Johansson to the ranch to enjoy a vacation.

The ranch was beautifully scenic and well-organized. The $16 million used on it was definitely worth it.

While driving through the ranch, Charles deliberately slowed down and reminded Scarlett Johansson, who was taking care of him, "We're almost at the estate. My mom is still here. I already had the Star taken to Monterey Bay. When Kate Beckinsale arrives, let's go to the yacht together!"

"Mmm-hmm," Scarlett replied vaguely, and Charles played along.

After they entered the estate gates and finally ended the intimate moment, Charles took a deep breath and took out a few tissues. "Wipe your mouth quickly!"

Scarlett intentionally licked her lips and then said, "Wasn't that exciting?"

Charles reached out and touched the half-exposed chest of the actress, saying helplessly, "I've been hounded by reporters lately. It's more secluded at my mom's place."

Then, Charles and Scarlett Johansson entered the estate's grand hall. Evelyn was sitting on the couch in the living room flipping through a magazine. "There're drinks over there. Help yourself. The servants have the day off!"

"Ma'am, I'd like to take a bath," Scarlett Johansson said.

"There are bathrooms upstairs and downstairs. Use whichever you like," Evelyn pointed out.

"Thank you," and then Scarlett Johansson went upstairs to the bathroom.

Charles poured himself a glass of wine. "I saw there's a vineyard here when I came in. Can we make wine with it?"

"There are two vineyards. The yield isn't much, just enough to entertain visitors," Evelyn leaned back on the couch and looked at her son with a smile.

"So, not much going on lately?"

"Quite the opposite. We just finished a merger and are preparing for another huge layoff. There's a lot going on, but it's nothing I can't handle," Charles took a sip of the wine. "The Capet IPO, the shareholders expect a detailed plan from me."

"The IPO is inevitable. Owning NBC and Universal Entertainment, Capet is now one of the top media groups in the world," Evelyn nodded, not surprised. "What's your plan?"

"In the next three years, by 2013, Capet will definitely go public. The exact timing isn't set, maybe 2011 or 2012, we'll see," Charles had laid the groundwork; now it was time to solidify it.

Evelyn nodded, "The shareholders haven't been giving you trouble, have they?"

"Giving me trouble? I own 73% of the voting rights in Capet. Compared to Rupert Murdoch and Sumner Redstone, my control is much stronger," Charles shook his head.

"Only Vanguard Capital and BlackRock own more than 5% of the shares. BNP Paribas just reached 5%, the rest are small shareholders. The GE shareholders are quite distributed, and the shares given up only have half the voting rights. Capet Group will always belong to the Capet family!"

Capet Group is nothing like Disney. The Disney family only owns about 1% of Disney Group shares, not nearly enough for control. Other than honorary director Roy Disney Jr., there are no Disney family members left in the Disney Group.

Roy Disney Jr. is 79 and probably won't be around much longer. His father, Roy O. Disney, and Walt Disney were brothers who co-founded the Disney Company.

"MGM has already sent out competitive bidding invitations, and many companies are preparing to bid," Evelyn reminded Charles.

"MGM?" Charles smirked. Capet had too many things going on to get involved with MGM.

"I heard Comcast and Time Warner are very interested in MGM," Evelyn smiled. "Comcast lost to you in the NBC Universal competition. Their chances with MGM are higher. And as for Time Warner, you know, even though Warner Bros. merged with New Line Cinema, it's still not quite a match for Capet and Universal. Warner Bros. holds several early MGM copyrights. If they acquire MGM, they could become the world's top film group!"

Charles shook his head. "That depends on whether Time Warner is willing to use its cash flow. MGM badly needs cash flow right now, otherwise, its creditors might opt for bankruptcy and a debt-to-equity deal via mergers with another company."

Charles remembered clearly that MGM took the bankruptcy route in his previous life because other companies offered low bids. Ultimately, MGM merged with Spyglass Entertainment.

The creditors received 95% of the new group's shares for the debt restructuring!

"Comcast is aggressive about entering the content field. They might take action. After all, there aren't many Hollywood studios that catch their eye now," Charles was mainly paying attention to Comcast's potential moves.

*****

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