Chapter 530: Disney and Universal

Los Angeles, Burbank, Disney Headquarters.

Robert Iger, CEO and President of Disney Group, was meeting with Thomas Staggs, Chairman of Disney Parks and Resorts, in his office.

"Was the problem at Disney World in Florida easy to resolve?" Robert Iger asked.

Thomas Staggs nodded, "Not much of an impact, probably because the governor's election is coming up soon. However, in the past few days, Charles Capet was seen inspecting the construction at Universal Studios Orlando, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is nearing completion!"

Robert Iger frowned, "Since acquiring Universal, Capet has focused heavily on the theme park sector of Universal Studios. Capet is now in talks with Blackstone and Goldman Sachs to repurchase the equity of Universal Studios Orlando and Universal Studios Japan in Osaka. With Capet's IPs joining, the competitiveness of Universal Studios has clearly increased!"

Thomas Staggs responded, "Although Universal Studios partnered with Warner Bros to build the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, didn't we also partner with Lucasfilm to build the Star Wars Experience?

We have Mickey Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, Donald Duck, and the Disney Princess series, plus Pixar's animation IPs. What can Universal compete with us? Jurassic Park, Waterworld, and even the recently added Marvel Entertainment and Transformers cannot outpace us!"

Robert Iger looked at Thomas Staggs and reminded him, "Don't underestimate Capet. Hasn't Charles proven his vision and capability? Now that Capet is restarting the project negotiations with Universal Studios, it's a dangerous signal for us!"

Disney was currently in a period of turmoil, and the restructuring of its film and entertainment divisions required considerable effort.

...

South Beach, Miami, Charles and his mother were sitting at an open-air cafe at the SLS Hotel, enjoying the Atlantic sunset.

"The Super Bowl will be hosted at the American Airlines Arena early next year, right?" Evelyn asked.

Charles nodded and smiled, "Both the All-Star Game and the Super Bowl are at the American Airlines Arena, why else would I have renovated the arena earlier this year?"

"The Paranormal Activity has been out for a month and a half, going from 50 cinemas to more than 2,700 theaters now," Evelyn smiled "A mockumentary horror film, and the North American box office has already exceeded $90 million. It'll cross $100 million by next week!"

Charles waved his hand, "Just like The Blair Witch Project, it needed luck and tactics. This movie was very cheap, production costs can be ignored. But Matrix Pictures spent over $10 million on marketing. Now that it's released overseas too, everything has paid off!"

"Alright, we know you're impressive," Evelyn took a sip of coffee. "You met with Scott Richard a few days ago, supporting his run for Florida governorship just for the land near Orlando?"

Charles nodded and didn't hide it: "That's the main goal, the rest is for the White House to see. He really thinks that becoming president means he can control everything, how naive!"

"Maybe he thinks you're young, easy to manipulate," Evelyn, as an observer, saw it clearly. Obama thought Charles was young and gullible.

"Huh, that's why I say he's dumb," Charles looked at his mother. "Mother, I think it's time to act. Ari Emanuel should be ousted!"

"So soon? Weren't we supposed to wait until the acquisition was complete?" Evelyn asked in confusion.

Charles shook his head, "No need to wait. The person handling Florida affairs from the White House is Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Someone has to pay the price if things go south, and this guy plans to run for Mayor of Chicago next year. I don't want Ari Emanuel using Hollywood's power to fund him!"

Evelyn nodded, "Alright, I'll call a board meeting at the year's end. Ari Emanuel doesn't hold much stock. Even though he has connections, I don't think anyone will dare oppose me!"

Evelyn Capet was the major shareholder, CEO, and Co-Chairman of the company, essentially sidelining Ari Emanuel.

Once Ari is ousted, it will be Evelyn's domain entirely!

Charles smiled, "Hollywood isn't as simple as these politicians think."

"When are you heading back to LA?" Evelyn asked again.

"Tomorrow. Lately, my focus has been on Universal Studios," Charles smiled.

"Universal Studios. Are you really confident in competing with Disneyland?" Evelyn asked.

Charles shook his head, "Not sure. The gap is huge. It depends on product licensing. Universal Group's total licensing fees don't even match Disney's Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh. Not to mention Disney's Princess series and Pixar animations!"

He continued, "Don't be fooled by Disney's current market value of around $53 billion. Capet's unlisted valuation exceeds $60 billion, but Disney Group's added value is high. Acquiring Disney would be far harder than acquiring Capet now. Disney wouldn't even look at an offer below $80 billion. If someone offered $80 billion for Capet now, how many can resist the temptation?"

Evelyn sighed and comforted him: "You've already done well enough. Disney's product development is world-leading; their IPs are countless. As for Universal Studios, aren't you catching up quickly? Harry Potter, the Marvel series, Transformers, all great IPs!"

Charles pursed his lips, feeling a bit frustrated. These IPs like Transformers and Harry Potter weren't theirs. By integrating them into Universal Studios, the main profit from product sales went to Hasbro and Warner Bros.

*****

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